Council Meeting - Regular Meeting

I call to order the Stow City Council planning meeting for January 8th, 2026. Would the clerk please call the role? Young here, Herman here, Bellman here, real present. Next is the approval of the minutes. We have before us the minutes from December 4th, 2025. I'd like to entertain the motion for approval of the minutes as circulated. So moved. Second. The minutes stand approved. Well, we'll vote.

Oh, vote. I'm sorry. Can we have a vote, please? Yes. Yes. Yes. Roll call. Do we have to do both on that or just We can just say all approved. Yes. Any nays? Minutes stand approved. Next is the planning director's report. Mr. Cohen.

Yeah, thank you. Um, just a couple quick updates on some some development around the city. Um, AMF Brooms and Sunb Belt rentals being developed on Campus Drive are almost to completion. There's a ribbon cutting schedule for AMF Brunes in April. I will send that information to council if you'd like to attend. Um, sheets, they notified me today that they are looking to begin construction uh, midFebruary. So, keep an eye out for that. And then I'm also expecting Aldi uh to begin very soon on demoing the old Save Lot on Graham Road. Um, hope to see that within the next month or two. And then I did get an email uh this week about the Vance Pizza that was recently approved. Uh, they are still plan on moving forward a smaller scale. Um, so they plan to take a portion of the building, still do the full building renovation, but also have two other tenants in that building. So, I'll keep you updated as we learn more about that. But, uh, happy to take any questions.

There any questions for Mr. Con? Mr. Feldman. Thank you, Mr. Kennel. Real quick, can you just review the date of the Chamber of Commerce Elite Business Awards? It's um I know we did some organizational work on that. I think it's March, Mr. Mayor. March 4th, I believe. Yeah, March 4th. March 4th. Yeah. Yep. Thank you. I just wanted to remind all council members of the date of that event.

Are there any other questions or comments? Okay. The first item for consideration on our agenda is item 20260001. Mr. Kelly,

thank you. Uh, this application is for a project at 8:16 Seasons Road. The property is about 3 acres and zoned I2 Industrial. It's also within the Mudbrook Overlay and it's for a site plan and variance approval for a storage building. Uh so looking on the map for at the existing conditions, there are existing wetlands. Uh there's also a 1,600 foot office building and a 3600 ft² storage building which was approved in 2023. Um what's being approved with this application is the same size of storage building um to the rear of that storage building. So with this they are mitigating the category one wetland which is on the bottom of the screen that will be removed. However the category 2 will remain which require setbacks under that overlay. Uh so category 2 wetlands require a 50ft setback. Basically no buildings or pvious impervious service can be within that setback. Um so the storage building itself again be located at the rear uh 3600 square ft. will be about 20 ft from the west property line, 90 ft from the east. Then the building itself will be about 30 feet from the wetland uh which is 20 ft into that required setback. Uh however, the gravel area and the fence will be about 5 ft from that wetland. So this is a variance of 45 ft from that wetland setback. I'm just showing renderings of that building. And this is uh this property houses a landscaping company, Green Oasis. And so they use it for storage. Um but that's all I have for this application. Again, this is just for the variance for the wetland setback and site plan for the building itself. So happy to take any questions.

Any questions for the planning director? President Herman. We could just say Mr. Herman. It's good. Uh thank you Madam Chair. Um Mr. Cowan, my understanding from our previous discussions about wetlands is that uh one category one is like the least sensitive and then category 2 is sort of the more important one to protect. Would that be correct? Correct there. Yeah, there's category 1, two, and three. Okay. And then uh to follow up uh what are the plans to mitigate the loss of the category one wetland in that area?

Uh again category ones are are minimal um the applicant is here if he has he could probably answer that. I don't know how he plans to mitigate that. Um but with them being you know minimum impact wetlands there's really not much of an issue of mitigating those but he could be able to answer that a little bit better. Any other questions for Mr. Cowan? Okay. Would the applicant come up and like to speak? Please approach the microphone, turn it on uh so that we can hear you and state your name and address for the record and that you uh my name is Adam Roman uh 822 Seasons Road Stow. Um to answer your question, uh so we put in for the permit through the Army Corps of Engineer already uh to for mitigation of the wetland that would be affected. Uh we did get the permit for it. Um so basically the it goes into a wetland bank. So we pay into it. So they take the wetland and put it somewhere else essentially. They rebuilt rebuild it. So

okay. Are there any other questions for the applicant? Okay. Is there any motion? Move to add this to the council agenda for this evening. Second. All in favor say yes. Yes. Yes.

Any nays? This will be added to tonight's agenda for council. Uh the next item on the agenda is 2026-00002. Mr. Cowan, thank you. Uh so this might look familiar to most of you. Uh this is for a reszoning of 3605 and 3625 Marsh Road. Property is about 2.2 acres and zone residential. Um, previously they came through and wanted to reszone this to a C4 which would have been incorporated into the C3 under the new uh, zoning code. Uh, that was rejected by city council. So, they came back and they want to reszone it to under the new code. Technically, they still have to apply under new under the existing code. So, it's C2 under the existing code. Under the new one, it'll be a C1 district. So again they just want to reszone it to diversify their marketing opportunities. Um the uses by right in the C2 includes retail, office, personal service, everything else any other any of the other commercial uh commercial uses are conditional. Those are really the only permitted by right uses. Um there are two existing 16 unit buildings. They were previously used for assisted living facility currently vacant. So the applicant wants to open up for um office use or medical office. The comprehensive plan does designate this as medium density residential. Um there's not really any other, you know, recommendations under that comprehensive plan for that. And again, under the new zoning code, this would be designated as a C1. And the purpose of the C1 is to provide small-cale commercial use along arterial streets and residential areas, encourage adaptive reuse of existing

residential structures, and support mixeduse development. Um, permitted uses by right in the C1, mostly the same as the C2 that includes health and wellness centers, artist studios, office, personal service, and retail. Um, yeah, with that, I'm happy to take any questions. Thank you. Does anyone have questions for Mr. C? Mr. Feldman. Thank you, Miss Miss Young. Um, was there any discussion on planning commission because this is a redo? They had to re resubmit it, right? Had to go through planning again. Did they have any discussion or was there any comments from residents that bought this property that's going to become C1?

Uh, it's been about months since I meet. I don't think any residents showed up. um plane commission recommended approval. Um you know they thought it makes sense for the C1 being adjacent to residential in this area. So my last half of the question, thank you chair. Um will this help economic development? Yeah, I think it only benefits it, you know, um opening this property up for, you know, more more commercial uses because right now other than R2, it can either just be a single family residence or conditionally, you know, assisted living or nursing home, something like that. So, this just gives them the opportunity to um you know, expand it and fill this space up.

Thank you. Thank you, Miss Young. Are there any further questions, Mr. Herman? Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh Mr. Cowan, I think that uh we had some concerns from residents when we had previously talked about this about even though the intent is medical offices that it could uh at some point turn into bars or something like that. Are you you able to address those concerns?

Yeah. Um and the new code under the C1, you know, like I said, there's uh you know, it could be a health and wellness center, there's art, studio, office, personal service, retail. uh those would be permitted by right. Um any other uses are conditional. So restaurants are conditional. So if they come through that there's going to be a set of criteria they have to meet and go through and get approval for. Thank you. Thank you. Is there any other further questions or discussion or any motions? Move to add this to tonight's council agenda. Is the applicant here to give you the opportunity? I didn't think so. Okay. Any motions? Move to add this to tonight's council agenda.

Second. All in favor say yes. Yes. All opposed or any opposed. Next portion of the meeting is public comment. So, if there is anybody that would like to make comment from the audience on issues related to planning, uh, please make them and come up, raise your hand, and I'll call you up to the to the podium. Oh, okay. Anybody? All right. Uh, we that's that's it for tonight. Do we have a motion to adjurnn? So, move. Second. All in favor? Yes.

Yes.

Meetings adjourned. call the order. uh the finance committee for January 8th and have the clerk call roll.

Baron here. Felman here. Herman here. Young here. Uh I have a motion to approve the minutes for the December 4th finance committee. Move to approve as circulated. Second. Moved and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. against extensions that those get approved. Uh finance director's report, Mr. Toppenhen.

Thank you, Mr. Barack. Uh just some things to touch on. First, I'd like to offer my congratulations to all newly elected and reelected council and law director. Um I look forward to working with you all for the next two years in my department. Um hope we can have a good working relationship as we have the first two years that we've been here. Um just some information from our area. We did have one resignation uh from our area. Our tax administrator, deputy finance director Sammy Wagner, uh resigned effective December 26th. Um we uh have posted the position both internally and externally. Uh Mrs. Re and I are currently going through resumeumés that we've been receiving uh and hopefully um we'll be getting uh some interviews going and hopefully have something either the last meeting of this month or the first meeting of February for a replacement for that. Uh we were sorry to see Miss Wagner leave. Um, but it was she decided it was time she wanted to get out of government and get out of management. So, I I wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors um as we look to uh fill her position. Um, we also are in the process of closing out 2025. So, hopefully before the end of this month again or first meeting next month, we'll have some closeout numbers. um to report. So other than that, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Any questions for the finance director? Mr. Feldman.

Thank you, Mr. Mick. Just a quick comment. I I mean, I keep getting these and this is a a thank you to both uh finance to um Mr. Riley. These these tiff things people are following us. We were out ahead. Mr. real was very involved in some of this, but Avon Lake just um established a tax increment financing district. Olmstead Township just did a financing um tax increment financing district. Um and ju just very quickly, and I appreciate your patience with me on this, but I think it was good that we did these things and we were out in front. So, uh Mr. Real, Mr. Riley, Mr. topping. Um these are good things and people are uh and we're out ahead and I hope we continue to do it but um you know enables us to capture a larger portion of the increased property value from new construction in order to finance public improvements. Um this is from Avon Lake. It's important to understand that these tiff districts are not tax increases on residents and do not take away funding from our schools nor provide any funds to the developer. It's a financially prudent strategy that allows us to invest in Avon Lakes's future without asking current taxpayers to foot the bill. So these have just been coming across a lot lately. So uh Mr. Riley, I know you and Mr. Real were very involved in that. So this was good stuff. we were out out ahead and and people are following us instead of us asking what other people are doing. So, Mr. Banick, I appreciate the time.

I will just say be on the lookout. We have a couple more coming this year and more work to do on tips. So, good. Uh, thank you for giving us the heads up. Any other questions for Mr. Toppen? Seeing none, we'll move on to the uh item business items for this evening. Uh, first item, Mr. Who? Thank you, Mr. Barack. Members of council. Uh, ordinance 2026-003 is authorizing the mayor to make an interal contract with ATNET Plus. ATNET Plus uh handles our Office 365 backup including SharePoint, One Drive, and our disaster recovery. Happy to answer any questions.

Any questions? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on the council agenda? So moved. Second move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. Against abstension. That gets moved on to council agenda. Mr. Ren, you have item B through J. Thank you, Mr. Baron. The first one is for routeware. This is our software that's in the trucks to assist our plow drivers um on uh directions through the district when doing snow plow and leaf program. Uh, it's basically designed so when first shift gets out and second shift gets in, they can see exactly where the plow has been and how recently they have been there. Happy to answer any questions.

Any questions for Mr. Ren? Seeing none, do I have a motion move this on council agenda? So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against? Abstensions. That gets moved on to council agenda. Mr. Ren. Thank you, Mr. Baron. This is for postage for the courthouse. Um, as you see in the memo, it is sole source because they are leasing the machine. Um, happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Mr. Ren on this item?

Um, not really. Thank you. Not really a question for Mr. Ren. He answered my questions, but I am trying to get a hold of the clerk's office there in transition because I think there is another company that does this. If we could leave it in committee or move it to the council agenda and have a first reading, I would appreciate that just to have more time to look into the financing for that. I think we could have first reading tonight for this. Okay. So, we'll have this will be on for the first reading tonight. Do I have a motion to move this on the council? So, moved. Second.

Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against? Abstensions. That one gets moved on to council for its first reading. Mr. Ren,

thank you, Mr. Bneck. Uh, this is first the first of several different uh pieces of legislation related to the golf course. I just want to give council an update. We closed out uh 2025 at 2,554,57955. This is an eight per eight and a half% increase over 2024. And overall in the past five years, we've seen a 39% increase. Uh this one is related uh along with the US foods one later is related to food and beverage. Um just to let council know, we did a little over $390,000 last year in food and beverage. So this is for uh Coca-Cola, who's obviously our uh pop and water vendor at the Fox Den Grill. Happy to answer any questions.

Any questions for Mr. Ren? Seeing none. Uh, do I have a motion to move this on the council? So moved. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. Against abstensions. That gets moved on to council agenda. Mr. Ren. Thank you, Mr. Berick. This is for a Kushnet. A Kushnet is titist. Um, this is for resale merchandise in the pro shop. The vast majority of this um titleist is the number one golf ball in golf. So just about 50% of our sales last year uh were entitleless merchandise for golf balls. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Mr. Ren? Seeing none, do I motion move this on the council agenda? So moved.

Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. Against extensions. And that gets moved on the council agenda. Mr. Ren. Thank this is for Advanced Turf Solutions for $25,000. They're one of several different uh vendors we use for the different chemicals and fertilizers we use on the golf course. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Mr. Ren on fertilizer? Seeing none, do I have a motion move this on the council agenda? So moved. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against abstensions. That one moves on the council agenda. Mr. Ren. Thank you, Mr. Barneck. This is for Jerry Pur and Irrigation. This is the supplier that we use for all of our irrigation on the golf course. Just happy to answer any questions.

Any questions for Mr. Ren on this one? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on the council agenda? So moved. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. Against abstensions. That gets moved on the council agenda this evening. Mr. Ren. Thank you, Mr. Barack. This is for nutrient AG solutions up to $30,000. Different uh chemical companies carry different different products that we use on the golf course. Happy to answer any questions. Uh any questions for Mr. on this item? Seeing none. Do I have a motion to move this on the council agenda? So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against? Abstensions. That gets moved on to council agenda this evening. Uh Mr. Ren.

This is for Tailor Made uh the number one golf club in golf. Um for resell merchandise for the uh pro shop. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Mr. Ren? Seeing none, do I have a motion move this on the council agenda this even? So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against? Abstensions. That will be on council agenda tonight. Mr. Ren. Thank you, Mr. Baron. This is for US Foods. This is our main food supplier for um our Fox Den Grill. It's one of several we use, but by far the largest one that we do use and we do get a discount by being part of the Golf Now network. Happy to answer any questions.

Any questions from Mr. Ren on this item? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on to council? So moved. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against abstensions. That gets moved on to council agenda this evening. Mr. Riley.

Thank you, Mr. Baron. This is the annual contract with the public defenders office to provide defenses for indigent uh defendants over at the Stow Municipal Court. Um how the contract works is the uh public defenders office bills the county for cases that are finished in that uh each month. The county then pays them directly and we reimburse the county 18% of the ca each individual case. So this is the just our annual contract that we have with the public defenders office. Any questions for LER Riley? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this onto council? So move second.

Move and seconded. All those in favor? Against? Abstensions. That one gets put on council agenda this evening. Mr. Cowan. Thank you, Mr. Barneck. Uh this is for an annual contract with allcapes uh for $35,000 which is for the uh grass abatements and last year we used approximately $32,000. So any questions for Mr. Cohen? Thank you, Mr. Mick. Real quick, Mr. Cohen, how many how many how many times are we going out in a year? I get the number. Are are we doing this right? because we're issuing a citation to somebody who's not mowing their lawn or not taking care of their property or Right.

Yeah. I mean, obviously it depends on the property. There's some properties that are just on our usual list and that we've, you know, we have to mow eight times a year. Uh others are just, you know, a lot of it's just a onetime thing. Um but you know, there's quite a few of them during the summer, so it it adds up. Thank you, Mr. Mack. Any other questions for Mr. uh one. Yes. Uh just to clarify then the homeowner or the landlord is built correctly. Correct. Correct. Yes. Okay. And we could assess it if it wasn't paid. Correct. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on the council? So moved. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor?

Yes. Against? Abstensions? That one will be put on council agenda. Chief Stone. Thank you, Mr. Barck. This is for Boundary Medical. They are a supplier of our EMS supplies, the consumables. Essentially, they're an Ohio based company. Very good turnaround when we ask for uh equipment and I'd be happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Chief Stone this evening? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on the council agenda? So moved. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against extensions? That gets moved on to council agenda. Chief Stone.

This is for Atlantic Emergency Solutions. This is a company we use to purchase our firefighting gear from. And this is a this is all for replacement gear. Every 10 years we have to replace the fire gear and it's a rotating schedule that we have. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Any questions for chief on this? Mr. Thank you, Mr. Rene. Real quick, the ceremony on Monday was outstanding. So, does this buy gear for them? No, this is the replacement for existing firefighters. We have a separate uh account that we've been buying uh that we buy for the new uh firefighters. So if I'm a new guy, I get new gear, right? Yep. And if you've been here for 10 years, you get new gear, too. Oh, there you go. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Man. Any other questions for Chief Stone? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on the council agenda? So move.

Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. Against abstensions? That one gets moved on to council agenda this evening. Chief Prusha. Uh thank you. Uh this next ordinance is for uh entering into a reoccurring contract with the city of Macedonia uh for prisoner housing. Any questions for Chief Persona? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on the council agenda? Some moved. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes.

Against? Abstension? Second. Let's move on to council agenda this evening. Chief Pusha. Uh this next one is for a contract with the Clayven Ford Lincoln Incorporated for general maintenance on our police fleet. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions for the chief? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move with this on the council? So move. Second. Move. Seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against? Abstensions. That gets moved on to council agenda. Chief PUA. Again, this is for uh contract with Hall public safety. uh for the installation and upfitting of cruisers uh as they come in. Happy to answer any questions.

Any questions? Chief, seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on the council? So moved. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. Against abstensions that gets moved on to council agenda. Mr. Ren. Thank you, Mr. Baron. This is for Busybe Cleaning. They are our cleaners at both our safety building and our service building. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Mr. Ren on this item? Seeing none, do I have a move motion? So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against? Abstensions? That gets moved on the council agenda. Mr. Ren.

Thank you, Mr. Barneck. This is for Lake Area Construction for replacement of guardrails along Route 8 um as accidents happen throughout the year. And the vast majority of this is recovered through uh insurance. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions? Mr. Felman. Mr. Ren, I I love it. Thank you. When are we going to get the ones in Stoke fixed Lake Erie? Can we get them to do it?

Yeah, once uh generally the ones like on Fish Creek and things like that, we can we do in house. Um, so I know there's uh one on Fish Creek that needs repaired and I'm not aware of others, but um I can have Mr. I'm sure Mr. Brooker has a list of uh areas where they need repaired. Not a complaint. I'm glad they're getting repaired, but we'd love to see ours get repaired, too. Any other questions for Mr. Ren? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on the council? So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. against extensions. That gets move on the council agenda. Mr. Ren,

thank you, Mr. Barneck. This is for Henderson products. This is an annual purchase uh basically for parts and accessories for our snow plows. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Mr. Ren on this? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on the council agenda? So move. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against? Extensions. That gets moved on the council agenda. Let's see. We're on review. Did I just Okay, you Mr. Ram.

Thank you, Mr. Barneck. This is for Oak Group. Uh somewhat confusing. Um you just approved it, but that was actually for 2025. This is for 2026. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Mr. Ren? Mr. Real quick, Mr. Ren, so I saw our employment opportunities that were posted. Uh plans examiner is on there. Have we had any applicants? Uh, two. Neither are qualified. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Okay. Any other questions for Mr. Ren? Seeing none, do I have a motion to move this on the council? So move. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against abstensions? That gets moved on the council agenda. Chief

Prusa. Could you please turn on your mic? Yep. Do you need me to repeat all that? Any qu any questions for Chief? Seeing none, uh

I'll make a motion that we approve up to $21,367.72 for the purchase of four portable RA radios for the police department. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Against abstensions. That motion has been approved. Mr. Ren. Thank you, Mr. Barneck. This is for Akran Freightlininer. This is for repair parts for our snowplow vehicles. Happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Mr. on this item. Do I have a motion? I make a motion that we approve up to $24,000 for parts of labor for the street department to Akran Freightlininer, Inc. Second.

Move and seconded. All those in favor? Yes. Yes. Against abstensions. Uh that motion gets approved. Mr. T. Thank you, Mr. Barneck. Uh this motion is to continue our partnership with New Horizon Communications Corporation. They are a ISP, internet service provider, a reseller for the city that offers competitive pricing for our internet and Wi-Fi services. Happy to answer any questions. We have any questions for Mr. Two. Seeing none, uh, do I have a motion to approve the New Horizons Communication Corporation for $23,59644 Internet and Wi-Fi services? So moved. Second. Move and seconded. All those in favor?

Yes.

Yes. against extensions. That motion is approved. This is a point of the meeting where we ask for public comment. If you have any uh comments for the finance committee, please approach the podium and turn the mic on and state your name and address and you'll have three minutes to uh respond. Uh seeing none, uh do I have a motion? Oh, yes. Uh I just uh got a text from our purchasing supervisor related to the postage m machine uh for the courts. She said uh they use the other company for their postage machine. This is for certified mail done at their desktop. So that is what that expense is for. So they have two different vendors. They're just using this one for certified mail. So just for everyone's information.

No, I appreciate that. Could we still look into it a little bit more just before the next meeting and just have a first reading and then Yeah, perfect. I would also like to say for the cost of postage itself, that's probably not going to matter, but we do use Pittney Bose here at city hall as well. So, we get a volume discount on our leases. I can find out what that is for you and we've been working hard to integrate the courts into all of city hall's processes. So, that's kind of how they end up with Pney Bose as well. So, just keep that in mind and I'll be happy to see what our volume discount is for all of our leases. Thank you. Appreciate that. Any other items? Seeing none, do I have a motion to adjurnn? So, move second. Second. All those in favor?

Yes. We are.

Thank you. I would like to call to order the Roads and Safety Committee of January 8th, 2026 at 6:05 p.m. I am the chairman of the roads and safety committee. Um I'll let you call the role here in a minute. Mrs. Matram, Miss Mrs. Young is the vice chair. Uh Councilman Fio and Councilman Barack Baron are also members. Will the clerk please call the role?

Feldman here. Young here. Kyoka here. Baron here. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes of the December 4th roads and safety committee meeting? So moved. Second. Moved and seconded. All those in favor signify by saying yes. Yes. Opposed. Those minutes are approved. City officials reports. Chief Fusa.

Uh thank you. I know you wanted uh an update on uh the vape stores. Um, and so I will tell you that on uh December 17th, uh, we served uh, search warrants on three vape stores in Stowe. Um, and this was part of a large multi- agency investigation uh, into these shops. It was uh, generated uh, by complaints that the law director uh, Riley received. Um it was a mix of selling illegal drugs and of course the um the selling to juveniles, particularly some of our high school students. And so after receiving these numerous complaints, we collaborated with the Summit County Drug Unit. Um and as a result of those uh they were able to seize a large quantity of of marijuana, other schedule one drugs, uh firearm and cash were seized. And so the the evidence is uh being processed at the Bureau of Criminal Investigations. There were no arrests made that day. Um and the investigation will be months long and will um probably result in some charges and uh some other um investigation with state agencies.

Well, we certainly appreciate that. Uh Mr. Riley, do you want to comment and then I'll open it up for questions? I know council we got that email and I just you know I wanted an update because we hear a lot from residents too on vape shops right and for sure

we appreciate your work on doing that. So Mr. Yeah, just briefly, that was great update from uh Chief Pruscha and thank you for working with the law department on that one because it was definitely a collaborative effort. Uh took many, many months. Uh I also want to caution as the chief said, this is an ongoing investigation. So if you guys ask questions that I'm not allowed to answer, chief is not allowed to answer, we will let you know that. Um, but I did want to thank uh Councilman Feldman for approaching me and talking about some of the concerns that he had about these vape shops as well as Councilman Reel. Um, as well as all of council putting the moratorium on vape shops last year. This was something else that came out of that because of those complaints we received. Also, as Chief Pua mentioned, complaints from the community. I'd also like to uh thank all the law directors from uh Talmage, Chicago Falls, Twinsburg, um the Summit County uh prosecutor's office, the Summit County Sheriff's Department, the Bureau of Criminal Investigations. This was a multimonth, multi-jurisdictional investigation. And it required numerous meetings with BCI because of some of the mechanics of testing and determining whether or not something is uh you know a schedule one marijuana or hemp derived uh intoxicating hemp. Uh but I just I do want to thank council for bringing this to the forefront because it allowed the uh the law department to work with the police department and then getting involved with other jurisdictions as well um to make sure this was a a coordinated effort because because of this effort on that day there were 11 vape shops across the county that were uh served all at the same time. So happy to answer any other questions that we're allowed to answer.

Thank you Mr. Riley. Uh, Chief, we appreciate you guys' work and the collaboration with other municipalities in in making this happen. Obviously, um, I know it's not easy, but um, you know, we see them in our community and we want to make sure they're doing business the correct way. So, uh, we appreciate your work. Questions from council. Seeing none, thank you, Chief Stone.

Thank you, Mr. Feldman. Uh if some of you may have noticed on social media we posted our numbers for last year. We had a record of 6,227 calls for service. That is a 12% increase over the previous year. Typically we get four to 6% increase but things are snowballing. So uh we do appreciate being able to hire those additional two firefighters last year. That does help uh ease up a little bit on the overtime and uh but uh the the numbers don't lie. We're we're we're busy out there. You hear them go by all the time. And I'm sure that uh Nick Ren appreciates uh every time they drive by during a council meeting. So I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Chief Stone. I I appreciate your collaboration with you and Chief Prusha on Monday. I know Councilman Herman and I both were there, but that was an outstanding ceremony for our new uh couple promotions, new police lieutenant, correct? And uh five new firefighters. So uh that was a a a good event. We appreciate your attendance, too.

Yeah. Well, it was it was very nicely done. Um, and Chief Stone, can you keep us apprised of and I know you do it in your annual report. Um, but I do like finances monthly updates. Um, I know you guys get a lot of calls to our um, what's the proper term for Vitalia and the one on Fish Creek? Extended care facilities.

Extended care facilities. And I I know that makes uh um our workload increase and our calls increase, but can you just keep council apprised of those numbers? I know you put them in your earning report, which you guys both do a great job of, but we just like to kind of see that because um I don't know if there's a way we can work around to get you some more help. We keep increasing calls, we're going to need more people. And um you know, I just like to be kept a prize. So we understand it as we go.

We can certainly do that. We do know the numbers are have been about 20% of our calls are at extended care or medical facilities and that is before we have opened the new Stolen 2.0 um over behances in the area northeast Ohio. there are no longer very many choices and the private ambulance industry does not like to respond to nursing facilities unless there's scheduled uh transport. So the burden falls back on all the area fire departments uh to uh meet those demands of those people.

And we're adding another one on Fish Creek, correct? What's the name of that one, Mr. Ken? The one in the back on 59, excuse me, not Fish Creek. We refer to that as Stoglen 2.0. I can't remember. I I can't keep track of that. I forget the name of it. Uh avenues avenue. That's right. So, all right. Thank you. On to consideration of business items. You've already took care of uh 5A first, Chief Pruscha and uh Mr. Riley. Thank you. So, next on the agenda is uh public comment. Oh, M. Mike Jones. Thank you, Mr. Satra. Appreciate it. Yeah, I forgot we're going to talk a little bit about uh

yeah, nice long statement. So, thank you, Mrs. Matra. Go ahead, Mr. Jones.

So, the engineering department was asked to provide a statement in regards to the private fiber companies working within the city of Stow. These fi this fiber build is definitely something new to the city of Stow, but is taking place all over the state of Ohio. To date, the major companies that are working or planning to work within the city of Stow include Metronet, Omni, AT&T, and Windstream. Each company uses separate directional drilling contractors to install their conduits. I would like to reinforce that these are all private companies and none of them are working for the city of Stow. All contractors performing work within the city rightaway or utility easement are required to submit plans and apply for a permit. The as mentioned fiber companies are licensed with the public utilities commission of Ohio and therefore have the right to install fiber in these areas. The engineering department reviews the submitted plans to make sure their lines are keeping required clearances from existing utilities. Once the plans are approved, the contractor is required to pay for the permit fee and post assurity bond. Before the bond is released, the city will complete a final inspection of all work area to verify all final restoration is to original or better conditions. This includes landscaping islands. However, if a shrub or a flower bed is within a utility easement, the contractor is not required to replace if damaged or if it dies by the type of work, but the contractor if the contractor is notified ahead of time, they have been working with our residents to avoid such damages. Areas where these contractors are working behind the sidewalk are all areas where there is a dedicated utility easement. These dedicated utility easements were platted as part of the original subdivision and it is where the existing electric cable and internet lines currently are. The preferred method of conduit installation is by directional drilling and before that can be completed, the contractor is required by law to perform test excavations of all known utilities. This is why the contractors are digging each hole in everyone's front yard. They're locating

water, gas, electric, cable services. Um and once that conduit before they place their conduits once the conduit is installed these holes are compacted and backfilled. There is a question in regards to each hand hole or pedestal that is being installed and these will not be able to have shared access with other companies. The contractor the contractors are not aware of the locations of private private irrigation dog fence lines and these should be marked by the homeowners so to be avoided. The contractors have also been willing to provide white flags to the residents to use to mark these lines. The city of Stow does have an inspector actively monitoring their work and the engineering department is overseeing to make sure they are installing the conduits as specified on the plans. Any plan modification or discrepancies are required to come back to the engineering department for reapproval. The fiber contractors are required to provide two forms of notification to each property, whether that's by mail, door hanger, or yard sign. The engineering department requires each company to provide a main point of contact for problems, issues, or questions and a more general number is provided on their notification. In case of an emergency, a resident can always call the engineering department and we can assist with the situation. The city of Stow is committed to making sure each contractor complies with the permit and continues to do their best to protect the public health and safety of our residents. This week the city had issue a stop work order to metronet due to some recent incidents and that occur that occurred and the city of metronet met to discuss and resolve these issues. Thank you and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

So m Mr. Jones, let me start with me. I've got some friends in calls farm here. Um so you say the I live in Call's farm. How do I know when they're going to be digging in my yard? You're telling me they have required two forms of communication? I mean, yeah, that question did pop up and we we contacted Metronet and they provided notification or they provide documents to the city engineering department that they sent out two separate mailers to residents within Calls Farm. So, the contractor AT&T will send it out, but yet they're hiring a subcontractor to do the work. Well, the the permitted well the

who does the permit get registered to? the general contractor which would be metronet omni AT&T or uh or windstream. Yeah, metronet's now T fiber I'm sorry. So if you see T fiber metronet they're right. So, how do we ensure residents are being notified twice?

Well, that I mean, we we had that discussion with Metronet this uh this week and they provided us, you know, documentation that mailers went out in November and then again couple weeks later. I don't it's hard to say what else can we how else we could be notified that residents are getting these mailers but they're showing to us that they were mailed out on specific dates. Is there any approval process through us that we can look at it before it goes out or does that take a public information officer? No, they provide us with a flyer that was that is sending them that they're sending the residents. They provide us with that. Thank you. And you issued a stop order to who this week?

To Metro T Fiber. Good. And when will they when will you say I mean what are their consequences? So there there were some recent instances about utility hits and um and claims from residents. They did get everything addressed up to date. Actually this uh the claim was was delivered to the resident this afternoon. So um as of this afternoon they have worked out all the discrepancies with the city. So that they do have uh the right to begin work beginning tomorrow. Mr. Mr. Riley, any followup?

Uh, one thing I just like to point out that council did change the right-of-way fees that gave us the ability to do a little bit more inspection and uh kind of beef up uh and allow us to to hold them to account beforehand. However, we're also looking at maybe looking at our contractor registration that we have in our ordinances and maybe fine-tuning that or bringing that a little bit up to date because I know subcontractors aren't included in that. Um, and that might be a way that we can at least have some contact information from these subcontractors. So, it's something we're looking at, something we uh we want to work out and figure out best practices. I know there are other communities that are doing that. I've been in contact with other communities that are doing this. Um, so we're we're working on something that might be able to address this as well, but not ready to introduce it yet, but we're we're working on it.

Thank you, Mr. uh Riley. Before I open it up to uh the rest of council, any committee members questions for uh Mr. Jones or Mr. Riley? Mrs. Young.

Um you answered the question about the the mailings. One went out in November and then one more recently. Uh so that was my my question was on timing. How much advanced notice? If somebody was going to be on vacation, would they have enough, you know, notice ahead of time? And the followup to that, when I was uh in business, we did like a seat. We we'd put seed in the mail list, meaning put yourself or a couple people on counsel so that they also get the mailing when residents. It's a way to to know when it was mailed and if you got it, when you got it. Thank you for the suggestion. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Young, Mr. Fioa, Mr. Bernick. Other questions from council members? Seeing none, now comes time for public comment. Um, this is an opportunity for members of the public to address the roads and safety committee on matters before council or matters of public concern. Speakers are asked to please state their name and address for the record. We're limit you to three minutes. Please direct all comments to council as a body. Personal attacks, profanity, comments directed at individual members of council, administrative staff, or the public are not permitted. Show of hands. Anybody would like to address the roads and safety committee. Come up. You hit the middle button. State your name and address.

Yeah. or she can see if it works. I'm Tammy Gyus, 4772 Lawson Drive. I want to talk about Metronet just for a minute. I have a couple questions. Uh I think I did get at least one mailer, but I guess my question is I'm not sure on the mailer it gave me a date like or we're coming soon or did you give it specific dates that they would be out? Do you know?

Uh we did we we did kind of go over that with them and basically what they told us was as soon as they know they're they're going to be permitted to work in an area then that's kind of when their mailers begin. However, delays could be there could be delays from from utilities or from other rightaway issues. So it's hard for them to to put a date on it because they could miss that date by a couple weeks. So the the general rule of thumb for them is as soon as they're approved to work in the area, they just send it out and say we're coming to your area. Uh they don't want to put a specific date and kind of be off by a month or two weeks, whatever those delays could be.

Okay, that makes sense. Then my other question is you're talking about three or four other companies that may do this same thing. So it they're going to then dig up again. They're not going to be putting it in where Metronet are using their lines. They're going to be coming out and Windstream's going to do one and whoever the other companies are. So, this could be ongoing for years or what are we talking?

Uh, yeah, potentially. We are still uncertain at this time. It's been kind of a year that we've done like a full year of of comp of kind of metronet's kind of the big one right now. Um, we've had some others trying to get in in as well in different areas. We're still uncertain if they're going to if different companies are going to move into the same area. We kind of have a feeling that they will be, but it's it's hard to say if if there's two in there, will that scare off the third or they all going to want to be in there? We don't really have a clear answer. Um, but it is a concern of ours, too, that there could potentially all go into the same area, okay, for competition.

All right. Well, I hate that, but so be it. Thank you all.

Thank Thank you, Tammy. Any other questions or comments? Just a followup, Mr. Jones, to the public comment real quick. So, oh, I'm sorry. You got it. Hi, my name is Zil Walsh at 4790 Lawson Drive. I do want to thank Cal Felman and Kelly Coffee for listening about this metronet and all these people coming in my light post or gas post. I know we sent an email because I was out today and I took decorations and it's wobbly. Let's say somebody else is also coming in. Who's going to fix it before? I mean, okay, Metronet did it, but let's say the next person I heard another person is coming in shortly. And let's say, okay, my light post is not, you know, fixed because it's not secure in the ground. How how long do I wait for this? I mean, what do I do?

So, your light post currently it has been has been damaged due to the work. Okay. Yes. As I mean, I would say as long as that is documented via email either to a a council member or the engineering department and we know that Metronet was in that area, whoever was in that area when that was damaged, we'll hold Metronet to that. Okay. um to that because that's what that bond is before we release it because they'll they'll once they're done cleaning up everything, they think it looks good, then they'll ask us, "Oh, we want that bond money back." And that's when the engineering department will go, "We'll look at the whole area and any outstanding issues and before we release that that shity bond, we'll make sure everything's addressed." And one of the other things we were told and I know after talking to Kyle and Kelly with the we all thought it was just going to be in the tree lawn and then all of a sudden you know they're halfway up. Thank god Lari was she was already at home and they were about to dig right in the front yard way above like halfway through and she's like no no no no you're not digging here. So we asked them to move them where the current utilities are and they were able to do that and they were very nice. Um and I do yeah the people that were they were very nice after going over but my concern though too is knowing another company's going to be coming in and my light post and yes we did send an email but just wanted to I don't want to blame somebody else when this put in. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you Miss Walsh. Appreciate that. Um, real quick followup, Mr. Jones, who um, we do go back and make sure the property's restored. That's the city's responsibility. Yes. Engineering department. Yes. Okay. And I see all these conduits sticking out. They're just they're going to be left like that for how long?

Uh, I can't give it exact how long, but those those so they'll come through. There's kind of a couple different meth couple different like um steps. So they'll locate the utility. Once the utilities are located, they'll directional drill the conduit and then they'll that conduit will be stubbed up until they could put their hand holes, which are the square boxes that sit flush to the grade until they until they kind of maybe drill another side and then they could put all that together inside a handhole and bury it. Um that's why they kind of stick up. Um because they want to make they they kind of drill first and then put hand holes in later. Um so but how long it kind of varies. So

they're awful ugly sticking up all over the city, right? And neighborhoods. Okay. The one are you talking about the the blue one or the ones on 91? Yeah. So

all right. Thank you. Any other questions or public comment? Yes. One more. All right. Pam Bose's 4772 Lawson Drive in Cole's Farm. Okay. You're saying that they're going to be more coming in. Right now, we got three utility boxes in the yard. So, are we going to have three more? I mean, for aesthetic purposes, we got boxes in the yard. I mean, are we going to have more with every utility that comes in?

I could say potentially unless it's unless unless the current provider wants to run fiber. So, if you have a a current box and that provider wants to upgrade to fiber, uh they they will replace the existing box that they already have. But if it's a new company or a new provider, they will have another they will have their own box

because one box is not one hole. We had three holes in the yard. Three because they're connecting this neighbor, center neighbor, this neighbor. So we have three boxes. Well, now we'll have six if they come back to the other neighbor. He hasn't he was out yesterday. Okay. Thanks. Just wondered. Thank you. Um any other comments from administration? Yes, Mr. Coffee.

Just a question. I know um that we are charging Metronet for all their inspection services and everything. The other night when we had a water foreman come out after hours and he was excellent and saved the day when um Metronet had cut their private water line. Are they build for that as well? Okay. Thank you. Yeah, they were build and they reimbured the city already.

All right. Um, Mr. Rally, I just say I don't know if you can brainstorm, but some of these questions and comments and concerns. I think they're legitimate. I don't know if we can throw it on. I know what a utility rightway is. I get all that, but these people coming in are multi-million dollar companies, right? And they're subcontracting. in

that's the so the the issue I I I fully sympathize with the issues with the boxes and everything. The issue is the state tells us what we can and can't regulate when it comes to public utilities. So we can kind of regulate the manner of which they do the work but we can't stop the work from happening. So that's where when I talk about potentially uh beefing up our contractor registration, that sort of thing, th those are ways that are not regulating the actual installation or where they can install or what they can install, but we can have a little bit more response and a little bit more responsibility behind the companies that are coming to do the work. Uh, one big thing that I I know that uh we've talked about internally and I'm I'm looking over at Angela because him her and I were just talking about it earlier this week is making sure that contractors and subcontractors are registered with the income tax department to make sure they are paying income tax for work being done within the city. Um, so that's one big thing you'll probably see changed at our local level to make sure we're holding that responsible. But it's things like that, looking at the registration and the appropriate bondedness, that sort of thing of the contractors and subcontractors. But it we're really our hands are really tied when it comes to regulating a public utility. That's what if you heard uh PUCO referred to, it's the public utilities commission of Ohio. They have rules about what we can and can't do. In fact, when we changed the right-of-way fees last year, we actually had to submit those to PO PUCO to make sure we are following their statutes and any company could object to our change and we would have to fight it out at PUCO. Lucky for us, no one objected to us. Now, I will also say in talking with other law directors from Summit County, other companies objected to similar statute changes in different communities. I think there was a strategy behind that. They went after

smaller communities like Reminderville and Boston Heights that might not have as much staff to actually fight uh an objection to PUCO. Um so we we are a little limited in what we are allowed to do, but we're looking at ways that we can at least hold the ones that are doing the work a little bit more responsible. So I hope that answers the question. We're working on something and hopefully we'll have it a little later this uh this spring. Thank you, Mr. Rally. And thank you, Mr. Jones. We appreciate um all the information. Obviously, it's bothering residents and we need to address something. So, all right. Do I have a motion to adjourn? So, move. Second.

Uh it's been moved and seconded. All those in favor signify by saying yes. Yes. Opposed. We are adjourned. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Uh do you want to keep it like it is on the agenda? Do you want to We waited even further up. Okay. meeting. Drew, sorry. Do you have a report tonight? Okay, cool. Y you want me to come out? Yeah, because there they'll be the first uh

Okay, I think I'll just go ahead and do that so we can get the Okay. I think she's ready. He stopped at 6:30.

present. Coffee here. Young here. Baron here. Pioca here.

Welcome everyone to city council. We are going to skip down to our first business item which is the presentation of the fire safety po poster contest awards by firefighter Mel. All right. Well, good evening everyone. Thanks for coming out. Uh, this is actually our 58th um, fire safety poster contest awards ceremony. So, it's pretty awesome that you guys are a part of that and that we're keeping that tradition going on strong. Um, this year we had participants from mostly third and fourth grade. We did have some fifth grade students from Holy Family as well who participated. Um, we received just over 250 posters this year. So, for you guys to make it to the top 12, that's pretty awesome. So, congratulations to that. That's a great accomplishment. Um, yesterday we had our Let's see if it'll work for me. There we go. We had our lunchon over at station one. Some of the parents were able to make it to that, which was great. Um, but just a quick shout out and a thank you to Bellisos who always donates the lunches for our winners every year. Um, they also got to hang out with some of us, some of our firefighters and check out some of the uh equipment and trucks. So, it made for a fun-filled day. And you guys got to miss a little bit of school. So, that's always a good thing as well. Um, so without further ado, we're going to go ahead and present our awards. So, Chief Stone and Mayor Perbonic, if you guys would like to come to the front of the room, when I call your name, uh, for the winners, you'll just come up. you'll get your certificate and your medal from Mayor Perbonic and Chief Stone. Um, and stay because they're going to get a quick photo of you, too. So, Abdul's on that in the back there. So, our first winner I would like to call up is Yammen Alweimmer. So, come on up, bud.

Yammen's in the third grade at Woodland. He told us a great message to call 911 if there is an emergency, but more importantly to get out of your house if there is a fire and then call, which people sometimes forget to do. We loved his beautiful artwork as well and he did a really awesome poster. So, good job, Yammen. [Applause] Our next winner I'd like to announce is Caitlyn Mueller, but she is not able to come tonight. She is out of town um in a much warmer place. Uh Caitlyn's in the third grade at Woodland. She gives viewers a great message to wake up when you hear your smoke alarm and her visuals represent her message perfectly. So, she did a really good job as well. Our next winner I would like to call up is Paisley Stubblefield. Paisley's in the third grade at Highland. Her poster is very easy to read and gives a clear message to check your smoke alarms. We should make sure our alarms are working in case of a fire. And we should test them at least once a month. Nice job, PAISLEY. [Applause] All right, I would like to announce Michael Guffy as our next winner. Michael is in the fourth grade at Holy Family. We love that he incorporated a Thanksgiving theme to his poster. Since Thanksgiving is actually the number one day of the year for home cooking fires in the US, he included multiple messages as great reminders to keep us safe when we are in our home. Well done, MICHAEL. [Applause] The next winner I'd like to announce is Colin Dobbins. Colin is in fourth grade at Holy Family. His poster is easy to read with a creative message of it's no

joke when there's smoke. His artwork was well done and very colorful, which made it an easy choice to select as one of our winners. Nice job, COLIN. All right, Emma Angelone is our next winner. Emma is in the fourth grade at Fish Creek. Her poster went along with this year's fire prevention week theme centered around lithium ion battery safety. She reminds viewers to never charge your device on or under pillows as it could cause fires and to instead charge them on a hard table or workspace. Nice job, Emma. [Applause] Our next winner is Reese Johnson. Reys is in the fourth grade at Echo Hills. Her poster included the importance of having a home fire escape plan so you know what to do and where to go in case of a fire. Make sure to come up with one of these plans with your entire family and you should practice it at least once a year. Nice job, REESE. All right, I would like to announce Heidi Dentus as our next winner. Heidi is in the fourth grade at Woodland. She also went along with this year's fire prevention week theme and encourages readers to use batteries safely and they should be viewed as tools rather than toys. She covered every inch of her poster with color which caught our eye quickly and made her poster stand out. Well done, Heidi. Our next winner is Ava Vargo, who is also out of town tonight. Uh Ava's in the fourth grade at Holy Family. Her poster was well illustrated and very clean. Her message, live more, close the door, reminds us to always sleep with

our bedroom door closed. As that barrier during a fire could be the difference between life and death. Nice job, Ava. Our next winner is Marie Renard. Marie is in the fourth grade at Fish Creek and she is an a returning winner from last year's contest. Her poster went along with this year's theme as well and we loved her little battery mascot she drew. She provided great tips to stay safe when using lithium ion batteries. Nice job, Marie. The 11th winner I would like to announce is Samson Laola. Samson is in fifth grade at Holy Family. His poster is unique as it focuses on electrical fire safety, which is a topic we don't see too often in our contest. He reminds us that bad wires can start fires. His poster was also very colorful and well done. Nice job, Samson. And our last winner I would like to announce is Averil Smith. Averil is in fifth grade at Holy Family. Her poster was the last one focusing on lithium ion battery safety and reminds us to unplug our devices once they are fully charged to prevent overcharging which can lead to a fire. Her poster was super neat and colorful. Well done, April. All right, guys. We're gonna have you smush together. We're gonna get a big group photo with all of you real quick. And all the photos that we take this evening, I will send a link to you guys so you will have all of them.

last chance. No, I'm just I'll send them out to you guys. All right, so nice job everyone. I think they deserve a ROUND OF APPLAUSE. [Music] ALL RIGHT, the next award will go to our graphic award winner. Uh, I do not choose this winner just because I don't want the pressure of it. So, Premier Printing and Signs actually chooses our winner. They're the ones who um provide all the poster paper for our students. Um, they also uh make our calendar that you guys will all receive once we have all the photos from tonight in that uh calendar. So, keep an eye out for that as well. Um, and they also put the graphic winner on the side of my vehicle that you saw when you were coming in tonight. and their uh picture is there for the entire year. So, it's a pretty cool accomplishment to be chosen as this. Um, this year, the poster they selected was very creative and went along perfectly with this year's fire prevention week theme. We would like to present this award to Marie Renard. All right.

Another part of our ceremony that I enjoy is we select two of our winners. Um, your name is drawn right here in the moment, but you will each receive a $250 gift certificate uh for a bike from either Eddie's or Marty's bike shop. Uh, we get a great donation from Charles Corkran of the Oak Group and then obviously Eddie's and Marty's as well donates to this as well. So, if I could have the help of one of our council members, you're going to draw a name. Kyle or All right. He is going to draw the first name here. Who do we got?

Heidi, come on up. All right, there you go. And the next one will be for our Marty's gift card. So, who wants to draw that one over here? Mayor Kelly, who wants to do it?

And then Yammen is OUR OTHER WINNER. NICE JOB. And then I will make sure to coordinate with the parents. Uh we will get a photo with the owners of the shops uh sometime next week. Um and then they will receive their gift certificates from them as well. All right. So the fun doesn't stop just tonight. Um, you all are invited to the Fourth of July parade. So, our winners along with an adult will be able to ride on top of the firetruck during the parade. And of course, all of you are invited to attend that as well. Um, it's pretty cool opportunity that they have as as well. I will email some details out once we get closer to the date, so keep an eye out for that. All right. And then lastly, I just want to thank everyone for joining us tonight. Um, including our sponsors, our city council members, uh, poster winners and families. An extra thank you to city council for letting us once again crash their meeting. Um, so we'll try to get out of here quickly so you guys can start that back up. Lastly, don't leave quite yet. We are going to get some more photos out in the lobby. Um, and there's cookies and refreshments as well. Um, so that concludes our uh ceremony for tonight. Thank you again for all coming and we will see you out in the lobby.

It's a nice little stretch. have before us the minutes from our December 4th, 2025 meeting. Uh, do we have a motion to approve the minutes as circulated?

Move to approve. Second. Second. All in favor? Yes. The minutes are approved. Law director's report.

Thank you, Mr. President. Just two quick things. One, I've mentioned this before, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it. February 19th, 1 p.m. at the Stow Community and Senior Center. Um, I will be doing my quarterly uh presentation there, but because of popular demand from last fall, I am bringing uh Chief Magistrate Steve Elliot back from the Summit County Probate Court. Uh, instead of doing Probate 101, he is going to be doing trusts 101. um because that was uh something that the uh the members of the senior uh program over there were clamoring for. They were asking a lot of questions about trusts and the presentation before was strictly uh focused on wills and uh transfer on death and living wills uh healthcare power attorneys, that sort of thing. So, that's coming up. Um I believe that the uh registration's open for that. So, any resident that's interested in that program, look on the website, register for the program. Um, we were sold out at 75 people last time around. So, I fully expect it to be sold out again. So, make sure you're jumping on it early. And then, real quickly, just because we talked about it a little bit um in roads and safety about the vape shops, I just wanted to provide a quick update. We've talked a lot last year about SB56 that was passed uh by both the House and Senate and signed by the governor into law. That's the regulation. It's a change to the uh Ohio adult use cannabis uh regulation, but it also regulates intoxicating hemp. So, in addition to the work we did um to make sure that uh none of the vape shops are selling uh can adult use cannabis as opposed to intoxicating hemp. There has been a change at the state level to regulate that. So, while we are still moving forward with this and looking at potential charges, that sort of thing, I do foresee some regulation from the state since it's passed and I I do foresee that some of these vape shops

are already going to be changing their business uh operations because of those regulations. So, uh, it it's not an easy quick solution, but it is something that we are working towards better regulation and I just wanted to provide counsel with that update that that happened in between last meeting. Uh, I I mentioned that it was it had passed the Senate but still had to go to the House. Well, in the meantime, it has passed the House and been signed by the governor. So, happy to answer any questions, though.

Thank you, Mr. Riley. Any questions for our law director? Seeing none, uh we'll proceed with our other business items. Uh 5B 2026- 15. Uh Mrs. Motum, did you want to give the background for this or shall I?

Uh you can go ahead. Yeah. Um this is just um legislation because um the charter um amendment on the ballot did pass to allow for three places um to post our notice and then after speaking with law we had to identify those three locations. So again our fire departments do not get many people visiting them to know about our legislation. So, I took the three most common areas where people look for legislation. Thanks, Mrs. Motum. And, uh, just to summarize, I believe that those are, uh, city hall, the library, and the community center,

correct? Thank you. Uh, any discussion on this item? Seeing none, uh, do we have a motion to move this to tonight's council agenda? So moved. Second. All in favor?

Yes. Uh any opposed to obsensions? Uh this will be on tonight's agenda. Next item uh 2026 25. Uh this uh was the result of it's establishing uh an environmental commission for the city and it's the result of uh some residents who are here tonight who I expect to speak uh during our public comment period was brought to the attention I think I think they contacted uh all of us or or at least uh the majority of the council and have discussed it already. Uh but uh it's an opportunity uh for the city to tap into the talent that we have similar to the other commissions that we have in order to get advice on uh relevant issues. And uh would anyone else like to uh discuss this before uh we move on and then have our uh public comment?

Oh yeah, Mr. Baron. Thank you. Uh thank you. All I wanted to say is that when I was looking through the ordinance, I noticed that uh it's sort of open as to the membership. I mean, usually we have representatives from Ward 1, Ward 2, W 3, Ward 4, and then with this fivep person committee would be an atlarge. Uh, do we need to have something like that in the legislation or, uh, would it serve a purpose to have it in the legislation, I guess, is what I'm asking the rest of the council members.

Uh, my opinion is that it seems to vary by commission. Like for example, uh, the planning commission, it makes sense that we have one representative from each ward. Uh I don't and and the other other commissions don't have that requirement. Um but uh one thing that uh we did uh discussed briefly uh with the mayor when he met with uh Mrs. Mrs. Spring and I uh and uh the uh leader of uh Reworks, I forget her name, Marcy.

Uh yeah. uh was that uh because there's so much uh potential for collaboration with reworks and then companies like Envir Science that are in Stow like um whether or not somebody is like formally on the commission doesn't necessarily mean that that prohibits participation from people throughout the rest of the city. And like one thing we could also consider is even increasing the number of commissioners from five to seven which uh is also uh something that's flexible uh because it does vary by from commission to commission that we already have.

Yeah. Any other comments, questions? Mrs. Coffee?

Um yes, I I met with um Patty and Carrie and I'm very thankful for their um advocacy of this. I think it's something that's very important. I'm a proponent of researching ideas. So if independent ideas are brought forward, I will research them all. Um I just am skeptical of another commission just because if you look back historically, even last year, even parks and rack, there were several times that they didn't have a quorum and couldn't meet. So my thought is to take ideas, you know, if it's something with native plants, put it into urban forestry. if it's something with um the community center, put it into parks and wreck and work the I mean obviously they're all open to the public and I would always want experts in various fields to be a part of things but to have them go to these commissions that are already existing um with these ideas which we would research rather than formulating a new commission. So just my thought on it I'm I'm against the formulation of a commission but not the ideas.

Mr. Feldman. Thank you, Mr. Herman. Appreciate that. Um, I like lines 27, 28, and 29. Environmental official will support informed decision making related to land use, natural resources, sustainability initiatives, and environmental education. We just saw tonight somebody in a category 2 wetland. I'd like to go to the commission and go, is a 30-foot setback too much? Right. So, to me, I think it's a great idea. And I like the idea. Hudson Environmental Awareness Committee, Kent Sustainability Commission, Ka Falls Environmental Educational Outreach Coordinator. They have somebody in the building that has something to do with it. So, yeah, I'm uh I like it. I like how it was written. I think you got to find experts, which we have here, um, and get them on that commission. So, I mean, they can advise council. I mean, I I get what wetlands are, but they're going to know it better than me, right? So, I like the idea. I'll be in favor of it.

Thank you, Mr. Feldman. And uh I'll just add that uh when we tal discussed this there are a lot of aspects of uh clean energy and and and protecting the environment that don't fit neatly into the mandates of other commissions like urban forestry or parks and wreck and so forth. And also uh our city staff doesn't necessarily have the capacity to apply for the types of grants that it would take to uh bring in funding to the city in order to implement these sorts of projects. And uh having volunteers from our community who have that expertise and and that time to help us could be a real asset. Any other comments, questions, motions? Mrs. Young. Uh

motion to approve this. Uh to move to tonight's agenda. Yes. Motion to move it to tonight's agenda. Second. Uh all in favor? Yes. Any opposed? Abstensions. Uh this will be on tonight's agenda.

Uh that brings us to the end of our business items. We do not have executive session tonight. So, we will move straight to our public comment period uh which will follow the same rules that Mr. Feldman described for the uh previous committee meeting. Uh if you would like to comment, please raise your hand and yes and uh please uh state your name and uh address and uh turn on the mic. And uh we're also uh asking everyone uh who speaks uh like some of the commissions do uh do you pledge to tell the truth? Of course. Thank you.

All right. I'm Patty Spring. I live at 2686 Norton Road and I've lived in Stow for 44 years. Hard to believe. Um and the last time I was in front of city council asking for help, it was in 1990. I was asking for help with the Stow um skip program and thanks to city council um they part funded the program. We got grants from other places and what a project that was great. Uh during that time I was also proud to serve on the parks and rec board. So uh it's been a while since I've been here but this time I'm here asking as you know for the creation of an environmental commission for along with former council woman Carrie Orus. Um, there's lots of reasons why an environmental commission is important for any city, not just Stow. And I'm going to give you just three. Number one, renewable energy is no longer alternative. A rapid global renewable energy expansion is coming and it's driven by falling cost for these renewables and exceptionally exceptional demand. You heard of AI, right? Okay. Number two, there is a biodiversity crisis. Ecosystems are losing a growing number of species all the time and we all depend on healthy ecosystems for clean air and water, flood control, pollution of crops, pest control, and carbon storage. Number three, food waste. Food waste is an environmental problem that hardly anybody thinks about. It ends up in landfills as trash and in wastewater treatment plants through garbage disposals. Both systems create large amounts of methane which is a much powerful more powerful pollutant than even carbon dioxide. Reducing food waste and diverting this food waste to industrial composting is a solution the STO is already putting in place through rubber city reuse. So those are just three and there's many more. And I'm so

thankful to Mayor Probanic, council members Herman, Feldman, Verinick, and Young who have come together to sponsor this ordinance creating the commission. And they are looking forward to funding or finding commission members, like you said, with expertise and commitment to protect those natural resources and plan for a sustainable future for our children. So, I'm hopeful that all city council members will consider supporting this ordinance so that in the future we can look back and be proud of all that we've done. Thank you. Thank you, former Commissioner Spring. Yes. Uh your name, address, and uh do you do you pledge to tell the truth?

Okay. I'm Carrie Orus. Um 3855 Kent Road. Yes, I plan to tell the truth. Um, you know, I've uh uh I've been a resident for 40 years and um I live on Kent Road. I'm the house, the red brick house with solar panels not too far from the airport. And uh you know, we live in a beautiful city and our city government has done an awful lot to make that possible. Uh we've identified 20ome programs that the city has that are environmentally friendly and um we appreciate every single one of those and we'd like to do more. So, I'm here to ask for your support to create the citizens environmental commission, which really has two purposes. The first is to advise and recommend to the mayor, city council, and the staff on environmental issues and the second is to educate the community on environmental issues. There are a lot of people in town with a wealth of environmental knowledge and we should be tapping into that. So depending on who would be appointed to the environmental commission and their background and their areas of interest, it might affect some of the work that the commission does. So someone who's an educator might want to work on educational programs and that would be great. Someone else might have knowledge of non-invasive plant species and want to work on programs for that. Others might be interested in clean energy initiatives and focus on those things. Not too long ago, the city joined um an organization called Power Clean Future Ohio, which helps municipalities with environmental issues. An environmental commission would be the ideal group to work with them to see what we can do in the city of Stowe. So, I ask for your support to create the environmental commission because remember, when we work together, there's so much we can accomplish for this wonderful city that we live in. Thank you.

Uh, anyone else? Yes. So funny. 25 years ago, my son won that fire safety poster contest and we got to ride on the fire truck in the So Fourth of July parade which was one of the most amazing experiences and also one of the scariest because you're on top of the fire truck going to the fire to the uh parade route and actually was a wonderful experience. So, thank you for still doing that for the kids in town. Thank you. Thank you for sharing. Uh, yes, Mr. Branch. Uh, name, address, and do you pledge to tell the truth?

Uh, my name is Andrew Branch. Uh, for the public record, Branch is spelled B R A N T S C and I live at 3764 Elmroad, a resident of Ward 1, and I absolutely swear to tell the truth. Um, I was wondering right before I begin if I would be permitted to approach the deis to pass out some information regarding what I'm about to talk about. Is that allow? Yeah, if you give it to me, I can pass it out to the council members. And then before I begin, I'd also like to clarify um page 16, rule 7.2 of council rules. Um because this is a committee of the whole meeting, uh the timing of my speaking is at the discretion of the chair, I was just wondering if I would be allowed to finish right now.

Please, please proceed. All right.

All right. Uh, I'm sure some of you on this council will be happy that I'm not standing up here and talking about flags for once. Uh, I must inform this council of a stark reality of a recent legislative decision. I want to make this clear. I'm talking about the long-term character economic development and success of our city. On December 4th, 2025, council passed an amendment to our zoning code which kept the density of multif family dwellings at six units per acre and also made multifamily developments conditionally allowed. The individual that proposed this amendment articulated that their motivation was from one residents voicing their concerns about giant apartment buildings potentially being put up or by their neighborhoods and two putting strain on infrastructure. There are multiple issues with this argumentation. First, within the code, you'll find that any multifamily dwelling with just five or more units is only allowed as a conditional use originally, meaning these developments have to be approved by the planning commission or approved by council as per the uh conditional use permit process outlined in the new code. This means that if residents of a neighborhood truly believe that a new development of again only five or more units would diminish the character of their neighborhood, they can play a part in that decision by going to these public meetings and providing their input because there's already a mechanism for citizen oversight. The issue that you believe exists already has solveny under this new zoning code. But what about multifamily de developments of less than five units? Duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes. The maximum height of residential buildings stays at 35 ft, which is the same as the old code. There is a provision to increase this limit by increasing the setback, but even then it's capped at 40 ft. So, we're not going to see giant apartment buildings because that you're afraid of because the new code barely changes in this regard and we ultimately don't get taller buildings. The entire

issue that this amendment is predicated on can't happen because the new zoning code already accounted for it. Furthermore, Mr. Herman already explained at the December meeting, which I will reiterate, is that the zoning code makes sure that the development of multifamily units can't outpace the growth of infrastructure because one, higher unit dwellings, the ones that put more strain on our services, are a conditional use, and two, other multif family units can only be built on roads that already have the infrastructure necessary to handle them because they have that limited use classification. Finally, page 15 of the code lays out clear guidelines for allowable height transitions near residential zoning districts. These guidelines easily prevent large apartments and tall buildings from being unattractively imposed right next to our residents homes without appropriate high transitions. This code was written by professional planners with extensive community input as a deliberate compromise to preserve Stow's low density character, one that came with a 150 grand price tag. So, we've seen about how these issues won't happen, defeating the purpose of the amendment. But this amendment, I'm afraid, unintentionally creates new problems. Here's why. The new cap of six units per acre on multifamily developments is already a fairly low density. And the reclassification of all multif family development as a conditional use adds unnecessary red tape and deters developers from our community, causing stagnation. This isn't a hypothetical. It's happened before and it was described in the 2022 zoning code diagnostic as an issue happening. The biggest issue is that our new zoning code allowed more specific dwelling density for each new form of residential zoning R1, R2, and R3. Even though, again, as I said, multifamily units from two to four dwellings are still only limited to specific parts of the city that can handle them, allowing more flexible housing options throughout the city while preserving the character within neighborhoods. But let's sh let's

shift gears and focus on the unintended further reaching consequences of this amendment. For this point, I'd like to focus your attention on the packet I've just provided you, which contains the data on every parcel in the new mixeduse overlay. I calculated the maximum number of units allowed on each parcel, as well as some additional data for you to get a better picture of how things will shake out with this new cap of six units per acre. One of the biggest and most publicly visible selling points of the new zoning code was its new mixeduse overlay, which would allow a downtown-like node to develop. Our 2017 comprehensive plan specifically mentions creating a downtown for the city as one of the four key points of its vision. Throughout the rest of the document, this point is made clear. Our residents want a downtown, a place where people can shop, meet, and dine. a place that is uniquely Stow and reflects our identity. This is important because if you look at the 2022 zoning diagnostic report from zone co, it found that our old zoning code couldn't allow for this vision to be realized because even with existing mixed use already in the city, the density cap literally prevented downtown neighborhoods from developing. This is uh with six units per acre cap, we have now made downtown Stow impossible. Developers simply cannot profitably build in the areas that residents have been begging for. This isn't just inference. This is fact. Because an analysis from Cascadia Partners in 2023 found that density caps destroy financial feasibility because developers need the flexibility to ensure that enough units are included above ground level retail in order to maintain profitability and return of investment on the property. The report goes on to tell us that a three-unit mixeduse building on a downtown lot is simply financially not possible and that density needs to be increased significantly for any sort of traditional downtown like activity to

develop. A model provided by the firm for a suburban community estimated that that even a density of 20 units per acre was still financially infeasible for mixeduse buildings. They found that they had to increase density to 60 units per acre until the project was just still shy of financial feasibility, which would actually motivate developers to start developing the land. Repealing this amendment would allow this density to occur and removing inflexibility that deters developers entirely. As a real life example, downtown Kaiga Falls has been used as a constant model by politicians and residents for a theoretical mixeduse district in Stow. Let's see how they do it. The mixeduse building 2020 Front Street has about 34 residential units on a lot size of 71 acres, which gives us a density of almost 48 units per acre. Now, uh despite this higher density, the building has an unimposing footprint compared to the surrounding buildings and fits within the character of the area. Kala Falls downtown revitalization is a very frequently cited paradigm for our downtown. So if we're trying to learn from those who do it well, why are we slapping this cap onto the brand new code? This cap falls short of every single metric I've provided, even the bare minimum to create enough demand for mixeduse development. Refer to myformational page and you'll provide and you'll find that the resulting average density in the new DRO district ends up being about 5.31 units per acre. Astonishingly below what we need for this vision to happen. Ultimately, with this amendment, any potential for a mixeduse area is dead on arrival, falling egregiously short of the required density to support these businesses that we want. Now, right, we're right back where we started. The proving impacts of this decision directly contradict the goals of the city in a number of ways. One, you prevent a downtown from developing, contradicting one of the most important goals outlined in our comprehensive plan, killing one of the main points of

the rewrite. Two, you deprive Stow of finally building community identity around a focal point of development, which is what excited residents about this in the first place. Three, you waste money both from the cost of rewriting the code as well as opportunity losses from the increased tax base that would otherwise happen. Four, you eliminate flexibility the city has with available residential zoning densities. And five, you exacerbate a critical issue with our uh city's population which is spelled out in the comprehensive plan. That is killing mixed use development means we won't get middle housing in Stow which will further contribute to the aging population of Stow and resulting taxbased decline. It seems given the comprehensive plan all of the steering committee meetings all the reports and all of the community input already accounted for there's a disconnect between goals and actions. I've provided all of the information you need and demonstrated that this amendment will brew adversity. I don't believe these effects were intended from your decision. That's why I'm speaking to you now to warn you. My time here is done. Now you have to make the right decision. And so I implore you for the residents of Stowe, for our great city, and for our future, repeal the amendment. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Branch. Uh would anyone else like to speak? Uh yes. name, address, and first, do you pledge to tell the truth? I do pledge to tell the truth. Thank you.

Um, Angie Charles, 3447 Saratoga Boulevard. Um, I wanted to also advocate for establishment of an environmental commission and wanted to give you just kind of a recent example of how something like that could be used. Uh my husband and I were on an extended road trip last week. Um traveling 2500 miles in our electric vehicle. It was our first big road trip. Um we did a lot of planning to make sure we could charge everywhere. Um had no problems. Found chargers everywhere that we went all the way from here to Florida and back, including in Birmingham, Alabama. Um, one of the things that we learned before we left was that we were um, wanting to do a fast charge on our car here in the area before we left our house and discovered that the nearest fast charge, which would allow an electric vehicle to charge up within about a half hour to 45 minutes, is located in Brimfield at the Meyer store. Um, we don't have any in Stow. Now, the ones we have over here at Skip Park are called level two. Those will allow a vehicle to um charge up in 3 to four hours, which is fine for city use. For folks that live here, who bring their kids to the park that want to charge, it's great. But for people that are traveling from out of town, we had folks um friends of ours who live on Oak Road who had a relative drive in from out of state um for the holidays who had an electric charge car or electric vehicle, he was looking for a place to charge. So for people that are coming into our community, whether they're visitors, overnight visitors, whether they're um folks who are traveling along Route 8, you know, north to south, um there's a real opportunity to do something here in Stowe. And as we were on our trip, I actually contacted the

mayor, mentioned that while we were visiting these various charging locations that we were trying different companies out to see what the experience would be, what kind of amenities they provided. and we happened to come across one that was specifically looking for communities to work with communities that wanted to locate chargers in um in kind of mixeduse areas kind of like what we're doing at the AMP um with restaurants and different activities because when people need to charge they're typically parked for 30 to 45 minutes. So, these are folks that oftentimes when they're traveling, they're looking for a place that's easy to get to off the highway that they can go make a stop, make a bathroom break, um get a restaurant, you know, take run their kids around a little bit. And they're looking for communities that want to work and find locations for these. That's the kind of project that right off the bat an environmental commission could work on in terms of vetting different companies looking for the right locations in Stow. And the one thing about um opportunities for charging stations it brings business into Stow and for the developer on Norton Road who's going to be making a very large investment in bringing in restaurants. they this would be very appealing to them knowing that they could get additional traffic off of Route 8 over there. It's a very short distance. So, it just, you know, occurred to me. I'd mentioned it to the mayor. He said council is going to be talking about an environmental commission, so I thought I'd bring it up. Thanks for your time.

Thank you, Mrs. Charles. Would anyone else like to speak? Yes. First, do you pledge to tell the truth?

I do. My name is Amy Mesmore Jones. I live at 3510 Dedric Road. Um, and I just wanted to um address council in how important it is. Um, and ask that you add an environmental commission. Uh, Stow's ecosystem is beautiful. We have beautiful parks. Um, we have beautiful bike trails and I also read the ordinance before I came here and I really um enjoy that um the um other councils within the area were on that ordinance. And that just proves how important this is and it shows that we're we're lacking. Um, and I also wanted to mention how um important um environment is as well and in having a more walkable downtown because there have been times um where I live that I've taken the bus and I've walked to the store, but I know that this isn't possible everywhere in Stow and I believe adding more places like this where it's easier to take the bus, it's easier to have access to ride your bike and walk is very important. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Jones. Uh would anyone else like to speak? Yes, sir. How much time do I have? Uh it's at my discretion, but but please we try to limit it to three minutes, but uh we are we're flex we're flexible tonight. No problem. Yes. Uh, do you pledge to tell the truth? I sure do. Thank you. And your name and address, please. Steve Brooks, 4303 Metallark Trail. Thank you. You know the city? Yes.

Um, so yeah, I'm here tonight to hopefully just improve a process for the next person that has some property damage. I mean, it was mild. My I had my mailbox uh hit by a the leaf pickup truck. Uh, not when it was just moving slow, you know, sucking the leaves up, but when they were going past to probably dump a load. And um there might have been a car coming. They swerved. Uh driver not realizing what's behind you follows you. So the the trailer swiped my mailbox, took it out. Ironically, July, I just put a new one in. And I had the previous one for like 25 years. So I don't I don't know what that's about, but uh so now I need another new one. Um I did contact um the city the next day. Um it was like midafter afternoon. I did obtain a video from my neighbor um who had a very wide angle who saw this happen. Um so I began to learn about the process and initially the person I talked to um warned me that I'm not going to I I I can't upgrade what I have. And that that kind of set me back. I'm like what does that mean? So, I just let it go. And um but then when I did finally get the the form in the mail, I don't know about a week later to to submit the claim, I found that the maximum um reimbursement is $86. And that's based on a deluxe step two. Well, I don't have that. I have something more expensive. I had something called a it was about 165 bucks allin. Um, it's called a architectural mailbox is the company name, but little higherend product, a little uh more uh custom design look than the step two plastic that we see everywhere. And um so I like I don't know if it got reported when I called. They no one knew

about the incident. So I still don't know if it got reported or if it did. Um, I should say if it didn't that would trouble me that the driver didn't fess up, I guess. And neither here or there, but that's that that you know, as a citizen, I would I would want that same integrity. If I did that to somebody's mailbox, I wouldn't just keep going, but I was told that they're supposed to report it at the end of their shift. I still don't know if that happened. Um, but with the video, it's ironclad. Hey, it happened, you know, so there's no disputing that. Um so again back to the process. So I I did follow um find out about this max 86. So then I found out the next step is do a moral claim and um I mean a lot of this was was hard to obtain this information what the process was. So it could just be made easier. And my first suggestion on this form listing the different tiers of um mailbox reimbursements is just that hey let's just reimburse the person for their loss. Um and if it's under that let's just say it's under a thousand don't put the person through doing a moral claim just just nip it in the bunt here and don't waste the law department's time or anybody else's. Let's just smooth it make it smoother. Um that's that's my main goal of being here tonight. I mean, I did want to say and I forgot, but um I'm thankful I don't have to bag my leaves. Um thank goodness I rake them to the curb and they're gone, you know, in two different uh events. So, again, very thankful for that. Um but yeah, I I don't think it should have gone to a moral claim. It should have just been reimbured at what my loss was. I am in kind of a predicament because I just got a release form. Um, of course I'd asked for labor in the moral claim. That's denied because it's just not what you do. Um, I

mean, I do a lot of my own stuff around the house, so I don't know what my labor price is, but if I had to pay a handyman, a lot of them these days, I don't know what it is, maybe since CO, but a lot of them have got smart and they have like 200 minimums just to show up. It's not some $50 job that they're going to uh put a new mailbox in for you. So, I would like that to be under consideration that like I said, I don't want to necessarily at this time sign this release letter unless we can further the the discussion and maybe I could entertain getting some labor reimbursement. I put in the claim for 100 bucks.

Thank you, Mr. Brooks. Uh would anyone from the administration like to comment? Uh, Mr. Ren, thank you, Mr. Herman. Um, yeah, it's been a practice that we do not reimburse for labor when it comes to the moral claims. I will agree with Mr. Brooks that it is time to update the costs of the mailbox um reimbursement. I can't say off the top of my head when the last time that was done. So, um, but he is 100% correct that 86 bucks doesn't go too far in 2026. So, that's something uh I've already mentioned to Mr. Riley that we'll be bringing to city council to update that moving forward.

Thank you, Mr. Rand, and thank you, Mr. Brooks. And anybody can speak on the the labor aspect. Uh Mr. Riley, just real quick, the process that just under the codifies the if it if the claim doesn't reach a certain amount, the the board of control is the final authority on it. So because the bo board of control has already voted on it, there's no appeal process to it. So that's that was the decision that was rendered. Well, that stinks for me. Thank you. But like we talked about at the meeting, I I understand your That's okay. When I hear no, I just that just means I should ask again or a different way. I understand. Thank you.

Thank you for coming to council. Would anyone else like to give public comment? Seeing none, I will entertain a motion to adjurnn. Move to adjurnn. Second. All in favor? Yes.

Any opposed? We are adjourned. I call to order the Stow City Council January 8th meeting. Will the clerk please call the role? Herman

here. Belman here. Real present. Coffee here. Young here. Baron here. Fioa here.

By chance I have the uh prayer and pledge of allegiance tonight. And before we pray, I'd like to start with a reflection to give uh context to uh my prayer. Uh 250 years ago, our forefathers set forth on this continent a new nation that is uh based on on liberty and the proposition that we are all created equal. They wrote that we are endowed by our creator with inalienable rights that include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I was thinking about that in church this last Sunday. I go to the church in Silver Lake, which is part of the United Church of Christ. And our pastor, Jen Berton, was doing readings from the book of Isaiah and the book of Matthew about how uh the Israelites were charged by God to be a light unto the nations and that when the magi came to uh recognize the birth of the Messiah in the book of Matthew, they they follow the star, the light of God, and that we All his creations, humanity are his lights. And this imagery of enlightenment is part of the character of our nation. It has been throughout our history. It is the ideals of the enlightenment that led to our revolution and our independence. And and these images of light, they're on our money. the the think of the torch of the

Statue of Liberty and uh Ronald Reagan uh President Reagan saying that uh the United States should be a shining city on a hill and uh so I would like to ask God I would like to ask uh you to pray with me. Uh, dear God, please help us lead the city of Stowe so that our city can be a light, so that we can be a shining city on a hill, to be a strong and welcoming city that works for everyone. Amen. 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.

Before us, we have uh several sets of minutes. The first is from the December 4th city council regular meeting. Uh I'd like to entertain a motion to approve the December 4th council regular meeting minutes as circulated. Second. All in favor? Uh any nos or abstensions? The those minutes are approved. Next we have I would like to entertain a motion to approve the December 4th, 2025 public hearing minutes as circulated. So moved. Second. Second. All in favor? Yes.

Any nos? Those are approved. Next, we have the January 2nd, 2026 organizational meeting minutes. I'd like and entertain a motion for the approval of these minutes as circulated. So moved. Second. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Those minutes are unanimously approved. Now we are in our council meeting public comment period. Uh would anyone like to give public comment uh during this meeting? If so, please raise your hand. Seeing none, uh we will move on to the mayor's report. Mayor Pbanic.

Thank you, Mr. Herman. Couple things. Um, helping hands is still moving along. The city of Stowe, uh, unfortunately in December, we had five fires, uh, that were devastating to, uh, five different families. Um, Helping Hands was able to go ahead and respond quickly to that need. And uh there's even further money and donations coming from our wonderful community and I just wanted to give you an update on that. So that is that. Um also too, if we can just do a quick moment of silence for Ellie Bosow who is a teacher here in our city of Stowe who passed away and uh her calling hours will be tomorrow and her funeral will be on Saturday. But if we can take um she was truly loved by our community and also to all the students that she was involved in and her colleagues. Thank you. Uh if you look uh get a chance sometime this weekend, check out the new website and uh there's been an update to both uh our main website and our park and wreck website. You'll find it easier to navigate and a lot more colorful and a lot more things that you can find very readily. So please do that. that was released today uh in context with the uh environmental commission uh that um just wanted to put a plug in uh reworks is in our city. Uh they just u completed their

collection space and they will be uh they're halfway through with their administrative offices over here. So, they will now be permanently located after around May uh here in our city of Stowe. And I'm happy to report uh that Marcy Crest, who is the administrator, uh came to a meeting to this week uh with u some residents and uh Mr. Herman um to go ahead and tie that in. And I think that will be a powerful um uh partner with us as we move forward. So, we're very happy that Reworks is retained here in Stow and also too, they're very interested in this environmental commission. Uh, this week also too, we had our pre-bid for our amphitheater. Uh, it was very well responded to. Um, we usually hold it over here in boards and commissions. We actually had to hold it here in city council chambers. So, a lot of interest, a lot of things going on. uh we look to um do the groundbreaking here in March. So again, great things happening and we're about a 9-month construction period on that, but I just wanted to give you an update on that. With that, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Any questions for the mayor at this time? Seeing none, uh we will move on to old business. Is there any old business that council would like to return to today? Seeing none, uh any new business that council would like to add for today? Seeing none, uh we will move to our disposition of ordinances and resolutions. Uh for the third reading, uh we'll start with item A, 2025-220. Will the clerk please read it by its title? 2025 220 an ordinance amending COS chapter 965 entitled permit fees and cost and bonding requirements particularly section 965.01 entitled fees and declaring an emergency.

Thank you Mrs. Motum. And I just also want to flag that we have listed a version two and a version three and that the version three includes the uh latest revisions that have been made uh at the request of council in our previous discussions. Uh but is there any further discussion on this tonight? Seeing none, do we have a motion? Oh yes, we will. Yes. Uh, I'd like to make a motion that we amend ordinance 2025-220 to version three. Second. Uh, all in favor? Yes. Yes.

Any opposed? So, uh, we are have now amended it to version three. Uh, do we have a motion to adopt? I make a motion that we adopt ordinance 2025-220. Second. Uh, will the clerk please call the role? Discussion. Oh, wait. Sorry. Now discussion. Any discussion? Uh, seeing none, will the clerk please call the role?

Herman, yes. Felman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, no. Young, yes. Baron, yes. Bioca. No. Uh that uh has passed and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Uh next item B. Uh Mrs. Motum.

2025-221. An ordinance approving an employment contract between the city of Stowe and Anthony Catalano as chief building official for the building department beginning January 1st, 2026 and ending December 31st, 2027 establishing compensation and declaring emergency. Um, any motions or discussion or do we just I'd like to make a motion that we approve ordinance 2025-221. Second. Any discussion? Mrs. Coffee.

Um, I am going to approve this. I think Mr. Catalano has done a good job as our building official. I do think and I and I've said this before, I think that we need to look to sustainability. I think we need to look to the county to get um an overall cost analysis just so that we are looking at all of our options. I think that that's something that um we need to do in the near future, but I will be supporting this tonight. Thank you, Mrs. Coffee. Any other discussion? Mr. Feldman. Thank you, Mr. Herman. Uh Mr. Ren, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Carolina does a great job. Correct. Without a doubt, Mr. Ren. Correct. He's one of the rest, isn't he?

Yes. And he's down a plans examiner. Correct. Correct. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Herman. Thank you, Mr. Feldman. Any other discussion? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Felment, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Baron, yes. Bioca. Yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Now uh we move on to first readings item C. Mrs. No motor

2026-00001 an resolution granting site plan approval and granting certain variances to Adam for Froman Green Oasis applicant on behalf of Key Seasons LLC owner on the property located at 816 Seasons Road parcel number 56-02114. Do we have a motion to suspend the rules? So moved. Second. All in favor? Yes. Any opposed? The rules are suspended. Uh do we have a motion to adopt? Second. Or move. Second. Moved and second. Any discussion? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the role?

Herman, yes. Bellman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Jan, yes. Baron, yes. Vioa,

yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item D, Mrs. Motum, 2026-002, an ordinance enacted pursuant to section 1137.08 08 COS entitled amendments to provide for the amendment of the zoning districts map and zoning districts by reclassification from R2 residential to C2 limited retail of 365 and 3627 Marsh Road parcel number 56-14141 in the city of Stow Ohio authorizing amendment of the zoning district's map move to suspend the rules

second all those in favor Yes. Yes. The rules are suspended. Move to adopt. Second. Oh, yes. The zoning. That's good point. Thank you. Uh, since this is an amendment to the zoning code, uh, this will require three readings and a public hearing. So, that will constitute the first reading. Correct. Mr. Pre President, when would you like to establish that public hearing? Uh, so we should have it before our meeting the first meeting in February at what time? 5:00 p.m.

or Okay. Uh, item E, Mrs. Motum 2026-003, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an enter into a contract with Etna Plus, Inc. for off-site backup services without the necessity of public bids and declaring emergency. Move to suspend the rules. Second. All those in favor? Any opposed? Uh, seeing none, do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second.

All in favor? Oh, actually, sorry. Any discussion? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Belman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barack, yes. Fioa, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item F, Mrs. Motra 2026-004 an ordinance amending ordinance number 2024-17

174 increasing the authorization of expenditures for with routeware inc for software used by street department without the necessity of public bids and declaring emergency. I move to suspend. All in favor? Any opposed? Uh, I will entertain a motion. Wait, a motion to adopt. Yeah. Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Bman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barack, yes. Fioa, yes.

That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item G. Mrs. Motra 2026-005 an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an entrance to a contract with Pittney Bose for postage for the clerk of court's office and the judges for the calendar year 2026 without the necessity of public ps and declare an emergency that will constitute its first reading item H Mrs. Mot 2026-006, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an enter into a contract with Coca-Cola Bottling Company for the purchase of resale concession products for use at by Fox Dan Golf Course without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. I move to suspend the rules. Second.

All in favor? Yes. Any opposed? Seeing none, I will entertain a motion to adopt. Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Bellman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Fair, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item I, Mrs. Votroom 2026-007 an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an interim contract with a Kushna company for the purchase of resale merchandise for use by the Foxen Golf Course without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency.

I move to suspend the rules. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Uh seeing none, I'll entertain a motion to adopt. So moved. Second. Any discussion? Seeing none, uh, will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Felman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barack, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item J. Mrs. Motum.

2026-008, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make it into a contract with Advanced Turf Solutions, Inc. for the purchase of fertilizers and chemicals for use by Fox Dine Golf Course without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. I move to suspend the rule. Second. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Do we have a motion to adopt? So moved. Second. Uh any discussion? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Bman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Yan, yes. Baron, yes.

Yoka, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item K. Mrs. Motum. 2026-009, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an entrance to a contract with Jerry P Turf and Irrigation, Inc. for the purchase of equipment, parts, and supplies for use by Foxden Golf Course and declared an emergency. I move to suspend the rule. Second. All in favor? Any nos? Do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role?

Herman, yes. Yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barack, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item L, Mrs. Motra 2026-10 and Ornis authorizing the mayor to make an enter contract with Nutrien AG solutions inc for the purchase of CA8 fertilizer and chemicals for use by Fox Golf Course without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. I move to suspend the rule second. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Uh a motion to adopt. Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role?

Herman, yes. Bellman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barack, yes. Fioa, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item M, Mrs. Motum. 2026-011, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an entry into a contract with Taylor made Golf Company for the per purchase and resale merchandise for use by Fox Golf Course without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. I move to suspend the rules. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second.

Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Felman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barack, yes. Yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item N, Mrs. Motum. 2026- 12, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make into a contract with US Foods for the purchase and resell concessions and supplies for use by Foxdown Golf Course without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. I move to suspend the rule.

Second. All in favor? Any nos? Do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Bellman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barack, yes. Fioa, yes.

That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item O. Mrs. Motum. 2026-13, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an enter contract with Summit County Public Defender Commission, a a provider of criminal defense services for the year 2026 without the necessity of public bids, authorizing the finance director to appropriate, encumber, and pay funds for set services as set forth within here and declaring emergency. I move to suspend the rule. Second. All in favor? Any nos? Do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role

her? Yes. Sorry. Herman Felman. Yes. Rio. Yes. Coffee. Yes. Young. Yes. Barack. Yes. Fioa. Yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item P. Mrs. Motum. 2026-14. An ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an entrance into a contract with Allcapes Ohio LLC for zoning abatement work in calendar year 2026 without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. I move to suspend the rule. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role?

Herman. Yes. Selman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Ver, yes. Yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item Q. Mrs. Mocher, 2026-15, an ordinance amending COS chapter 125 entitled ordinances and resolutions, particularly section 125-01 entitled posting places and declaring an emergency. I move to suspend the rules. Second. All in favor? Yes. Any knows? Do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role?

Herman, yes. Belman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Fioa, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item R. Mrs. Motum. 2026-16, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an entrance into a contract with Boundry Medical for the purchase of medical supplies for EMS medical units for use by the fire department without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. I move to suspend the rules. Second. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adapt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Felman,

yes. Rio, yes. Poppy, yes. Young, yes. Yes. Baron, yes. And Fioa, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item S. Mrs. Motum. 2026-17, ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an enter into a contract with Atlantic Emergency Solutions, Inc. for the purchase of replacement gear, supplies, repairs, and equipment for the use of the fire department without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. Move to suspend the rules. Second. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Mr. Felton,

real quick, Chief Stone, we don't do anything with the old gear. We buy it. I mean, it's not worth anything. No one else. What do we do with it? I guess we I mean it's just a big number. I'm just wondering.

We uh use the old gear for training purposes. We can't use it in a fire. NFPA uh I think it is 1910 doesn't allow us to to use it. My anyway, it's NFPA standard that says when we can and cannot use it. We did send two sets of old uh gear from 2014 to the Dominican Republic. A gentleman stopped by, has a relative that's at Kent State, and he's a volunteer firefighter. He's an attorney down there and he was telling us about his gear which is from 2009. I said, "When did you buy?" He goes, "18 months ago." I said, "Hold on." And so one of our new hires that we hired on Monday brought gear from his home that he had at a previous department. Then one of our uh then we found a set of gear from uh 2014 that was purchased under a AFG grant years ago that we gave him two sets to take back to his department. So that's an unusual case, but we are going to be pursuing a talk with uh the Rotary uh the Rotary presidents don't know this yet, but we are going to contact them and talk to them about a possible venture to supply uh this uh fire department in the Dominican Republic um with some some of our expired gear. They don't have the NFBA standards that they abide by uh so they could actually use it.

Well, that's great news. I'm glad I asked. and being a member of Rotary there there is an international aspect to Rotary so I think it's a great idea. Thank you Mr. Thank you. Uh any other discussion? Seeing none will the clerk please call the role. Herman, yes. Felman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Bar, yes. Barack and Fioa, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item T. Mrs. Motum. 2026-18, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an end to a contract with the city of Macedonia for prisoner housing at Macedonia jail without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. I move to suspend the rule.

Second. All in favor? Any nos? Uh, do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Mr. Feldman.

Chief Prushia, real quick. This was a big thing of mine six years ago. In our vision, and I would assume as the new leader of the department, you're going to establish a strategic plan. Um, can we at least look at utilizing somehow utilizing I mean Mr. Earl, your budget director tells me all the time, can't do it, Kyle. Too expensive. Can't do it. Well, can we at least look at something maybe some different ways? I'm just asking you to look at it. Yes, we we can. It It would be more expensive, hands down, using Macedonia. I mean, our our jail actually this year ended up going from a 12-day facility to an 8-hour facility. Um, and so ju just because we we have to meet less standards that way and we weren't holding anybody um anyway. Um, so it it would really be a greater expense to house people in our jail or to open up our jail than to to contract with Macedonia and Kya Falls and to utilize Summit County.

Yeah, I understand. I just know we have a great facility down there. Don't we don't use it. We've done a jail study a number of times and I still have it like on the shelf and obviously, you know, anything that's more than four or five years old wouldn't account for the current inflation. Um, but it it is something, you know, that that I could look into.

Yeah, I I probably know the answer, but can they at least tell me no? Cuz you walk through the facility and it's great. I mean, I like it. But I know when we built it, it had to be in there and all that stuff. And I've seen the the study, you know, and all that thing. So, yeah. I mean, I get it. But, uh, maybe you can just take a look at a little bit. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Herman. Thank you. Any other discussion? Seeing none, will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Belman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barack, yes. Vioa, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item U. Mrs. Motum.

202619, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make and enter a contract with Clayton for Ford Fort Lincoln, Inc. for general maintenance for the police department fleet without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. Move to suspend the rule. Second. All in favor? Any nos? Do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role?

Herman, yes. Belman, yes. Real, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barca, yes. that passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item B, Mrs. Motum, 2026-20, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an entrance to a contract with Hall Public Safety Co. for cruiser equipment for installation without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. Move to suspend the rule. Second. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Uh, do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Belman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Yes. Barcia,

yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item X. Mrs. Motum. 2026-21, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an entrance to a contract with Patricia A. Mitchell DBA busy B cleaning service a professional services provider for cleaning services for the safety and service buildings without the necessity of public pits and declare an emergency. Move to suspend the rule. All in favor? Any nos? Do we have a motion to adopt? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role?

Harmon. Yes. Belman. Yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Jan, yes. Barack, yes. Yoka, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item W, Mrs. Motum, 2026-22, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an entrance to a contract with Lake Eerie Construction Company for the replacement of guard rail and post on Route 8 without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. Move to suspend the rule. Second. All in favor? Any move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role? [Music]

Herman, yes. Belman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barack, yes. Fioa, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item Y, Mrs. No term 2026-23, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an ent contract with Henderson Products, Inc. for snowplow and truck parts without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. Move to suspend the rules. Second. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Mr. Felton. Mr. Ren, we're doing a great job on the snow, but that's been a lot so far, hasn't there? Yeah. Oh, yeah.

I mean, we've been out. Actually, it's just going back to what a normal winter used to be. Yeah. So, we're good on all the trucks are running and fixed. We have one down right now, but we just started both shifts uh this past Monday. How are we on salt? Good. Good. Thank you. Thank you, President. Any other discussion? Will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Belman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barack, yes. Fioa. Yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item Z. Mrs. Motum.

2026-24. An or ordinance authorizing the mayor to make an enter into a contract with Oak Group, Inc. for Master Plans Examiner Services for calendar year 2026 without the necessity of public bids and declare an emergency. Move to suspend the rule. Second. All in favor? Yes. Any nos? Move to adopt. Second. Any discussion? Will the clerk please call the role? Herman, yes. Belman, yes. Rio, yes. Coffee, yes. Young, yes. Barck, yes. Fioa, yes.

That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Item double A, Mrs. Motum. 2026-25 an ordinance establishing chapter 185 COS entitled environmental commission to advise the mayor and the city council and educate community on environmental issues defining its purposes and duties and authorizing the mayor mayoral appointments subject to council confirmation. I move to suspend the rule. Second. Uh all in favor? Yes. Yes. Any nos? Uh move to adopt second.

Any discussion? Uh so my understanding uh was that this uh had not been uh this had been this had been put forward with the intent of going through the usual uh three readings instead of uh passes an emergency to give time for additional uh public input. Uh but uh it's up to uh council of course. Uh so any discussion suspending the rules? Okay. Um so uh then will the clerk please call the role? Carmen, yes. Felman, yes. Real, yes.

Coffee, no. Young, yes. Barin, yes. Yoka, yes. That passes and will take effect in accordance with the rules. Bill of listing approval. I move to pay the bill. Second. Second. All in favor? Yes. Any knows?

The bills will be paid. Uh scheduling of standing committee meetings and uh council reports. uh just for for everyone's awareness that in addition to flagging whether or not you know for sure uh that we should be scheduling your committee for the next meeting. I understand that other business may come up in the meantime that we may not be able to say that right now. But uh we also want to use this as an opportunity for council members to uh discuss anything, make any statements, flag any upcoming events uh that they wish uh at this time before we adjourn. Uh Mr.

Thank you, Mr. Herman. Um I I don't know if you want to put this on public improvements or roads and safety, but I I'd like to ask uh Mayor Perbanic and Mr. Ren. Um, I got some information from the water and superintendent on water main breaks. Can we just put that down as an item for discussion? And I'll I'll provide a uh I've got a document that Jeff gave me that was pretty informative on water main brakes for 202. So, um, if that's okay, can we get it on I think it would be maybe public improvement. If not, roads and safety, we'll put it somewhere.

Okay. Thank you. Uh, anyone else? Okay. Uh, seeing none, I will

May I say something for the good of the order? I'm sorry. Yes. Okay. I wanted to let everyone know that I did increase the training budget for council this year. I don't know if any of you that have been on council have gone to the Ohio Municipal League training for council members in the past or not, but it's offered for new and veteran members. Um, so we are members of OML as a city and that is something that we pay for and that is something that can greatly enhance your ability to serve the residents and ease your conversations with staff when you're asking questions for us. It'll talk about ethics, open meetings and records act, budgeting, meeting procedures, all of the things. It does take place on a Saturday and you do have three options of when you could go depending on how far you want to go. So, um, there's one coming up in February that's in Mason, which is near Cincinnati on the 7th of February. February 21st is in, uh, essentially Columbus and Warthingington down in Lewis Center at the, um, Ohio and Hotel and Event Center, formerly known as Nationwide Conference Center. And then the one closest to us is Saturday, March 7th, at Embassy Suites in Rockside. So, I highly encourage um, anyone who hasn't gone before or if you want a refresher to please do that. The money is in your budget for that this year. Thank you. Thank you very much for flagging that and uh I did attend earlier in my first term. It was very helpful and I I think others have as well. Mr. Riley,

just off of that because Angela brought it up. Uh we are in a new term and as new your new term, you are required to either yourself or your design complete the Ohio public records and open meetings law training. Um, so if it's being offered at one of those, you could do two birds, one stone by attending one of those, but otherwise either yourself or your design has to complete that training within this term. So just a quick reminder because Angela brought it up.

Thank you, Mr. Riley. Anything else for the good of the cause? Um, I just want to flag that we have an awesome opasum party happening at our community center next Wednesday evening uh with ODNR presenting on misunderstood animals. So that's one of the many good city events that you can find on our website. Anything else? Do we have a motion to adjurnn? All in favor? Yes, we are adjourned.