July 20, 2009 City Council meeting recap
The July 20, 2009 meeting of Lakewood City Council lasted around two hours and was attended by about 25 people, including a dozen or more citizens being honored for their participation in the city’s Fourth of July parade. The docket can be reviewed here (.pdf).
Liquor permits approved
Council declined to raise any objections over liquor permit applications for El Tango Taqueria at 14224 Madison Ave or the BP gas station at 14718 Madison Ave.
Parade honors handed out
Paula Reed and representatives from Brennan’s Floral Gift Shop, Beck Center, Emerson Unicycle Club, and VFW Edgewater Post #387 were present to receive their plaques in recognition of having winning parade entries. The Lakewood High School Marching Band entry won for Most Spirit, but no one was on hand to accept their award.
No guards at Madison Park — yet
Human Services Director Dorothy Buckon provided council with a written update regarding a couple of youth programs in Lakewood. In the course of discussion, Councilperson Mary Louise Madigan (Ward 4) said she felt the situation at Madison Park – the amount of trouble caused by young people – was getting to the point where “an adult set of eyes and ears” might be needed in order to keep the peace.
“This year it wasn’t possible to have a guard,” she said. Madigan suggested the administration plan ahead for next year, and possibly try to get stimulus funding to support the addition of one or two guards or outreach people who would be at the park from 2:00 p.m. until dusk.
Mayor Edward O. FitzGerald said he hasn’t ruled out posting someone at Madison Park this year as a stopgap measure. He added that the city never had a guard at the park in the past. His concern is that once a guard is allocated there, people will expect there to be one at other Lakewood parks. “The money quite frankly isn’t there [for that],” he said.
Mayor’s tweaks to tall grass ordinance unanimously approved
Give Councilperson Kevin Butler (Ward 1) a gold star. In what was probably a tedious slog for many in attendance, Butler took several minutes to make sure council was clear on the differences between the proposed ordinance and the existing ordinance.
Mayor FitzGerald said he examined the tall grass remediation process early last summer, when it was run by the health department (since disbanded), and found it took about three weeks between the point when a citation was issued and the time when the grass was mowed.
The housing and building department now runs the process and the delay in action has been reduced to about five days. Director Jeff Ashby reviewed the tall grass ordinances of Bay Village, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, and Cleveland and found Lakewood’s ordinance could be improved by doing away with the part of the law that required multiple warnings to repeat offenders.
Ashby said the city’s lone tall grass inspector issued 290 letters of correction (for grass exceeding 6 inches in height) during May and June. 30 lawns needed to be cut by the city. There were 11 repeat offenders.
Councilperson Michael Summers (Ward 3) and Councilperson Butler both tested the report a problem feature on the city’s Web site to report tall grass and proclaimed it a success.
There was some discussion about vague wording within the proposed ordinance in regard to the time frame and method of contact used to notify property owners about a violation. Because Ashby’s department allows for a five-day grace period between receipt of a violation letter and property reinspection, it was a moot point.
Council suspended the rules and unanimously approved the proposed ordinance.
Miscellaneous
Council approved a resolution supporting the police department’s application to the state to get funding for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program. Councilwoman Madigan gave Police Chief Timothy Malley a tough time about the D.A.R.E program’s usefulness. “I keep hearing things,” she said. Madigan wanted to know if the program’s effectiveness has been evaluated. Chief Malley said the program has been around for 20 years, but hasn’t been evaluated recently.
Councilperson Butler and Chief Malley are going to discuss the police bar patrol situation. None of the recently hired part-time police officers have been assigned that duty due to their work schedules, according to Chief Malley.
Mayor FitzGerald said he’s working on a plan to convince RTA to continue circulator service in Lakewood. “We expressed ourselves vociferously” at the recent public meeting on RTA’s budget issues, he said.
FitzGerald was particularly unhappy RTA didn’t invite more public comment on the matter before making a decision. FitzGerald’s sources have told him a final decision on the circulator will be made prior to the next RTA board meeting scheduled for late August.
Public Comment
Coletta Graham, of 1286 Chase, had a range of questions on several different topics. Councilperson Thomas Bullock is still conducting public meetings on the leashed dog walking ordinance. The lawsuit against Lakewood filed by Rocky River regarding the dog park will be heard in early 2010. The police department has a good idea of what killed the person recently found along the railroad tracks, but is waiting for the corner to issue an official cause of death.
Steve Gannis, of 13511 Detroit, applauded the mayor’s efforts to save the Lakewood circulator. He opposed the ordinance allowing leashed dogs in city parks because “it would lower the quality of life in Lakewood.”
Andy Baxter, of 1522 Wayne, was unhappy with the city policy that allows people to anonymously make complaints. He said a neighbor recently called the police and accused him of skinning a buffalo in his garage. He said the complaint was bogus and he’s tired of receiving harassment from the city.
Baxter said he was involved in a custody dispute and someone repeatedly called the housing and building department to complain about a teepee he erected in his yard for his son. Baxter said he was writing a book about the poor treatment he has received from the city.
Baxter read from a prepared statement and was visibly angry. Here’s hoping city officials who witnessed the event don’t discount it, and make an effort to talk to him.
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