Training, Trash and More Trash

Notes from the January 18th Committee of the Whole Meeting...
Trash One

I don’t know about you, but I loved the notices posted at well-traveled intersections last weekend, letting residents know that there were no trash collection delays due to the Martin Luther King federal holiday.


The neon bulletin boards near the park and city hall don’t really do much good given that they are so small and the red lighting is so hard to read from a moving car.


I assume the idea for the “no trash delay” signs originated in the Service Department, and you can be sure it was Service Department employees that installed them. Thanks for the heads up, guys!



Trash Two
Unslightly trash bins and trash dumpster was on the agenda for the January 18th Committee of the Whole meeting. The discussion was sparked by a citizen’s complaint after the church on Ford Road moved a trash bin to the front of its parking lot (it has since been moved to the rear of the parking lot).


The issue of trash screening on commercial properties is usually dealt with early on by the Planning & Zoning Commission when a property owner or tenant asks for site approval or a variance. As far as residential properties go, our ordinances restrict when trash can be set out for collection.


There was no clear consensus, at least at this point, that the problem required adoption of a formal trash screening ordinance.



Our Building Code
The discussion about trash screening shows that there is no easy answer about how much behavior the city should regulate or how specific those regulations should be.


Building Commissioner Dale Grabfelder would like to beef up the city’s exterior maintenance ordinances by adopting something called the “International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC)”. Grabfelder explained that our current ordinances are a bit vague, which makes it very hard for him to nudge reluctant homeowners into repairing and/or maintaining their property. The IPMC sets out specific standards and requirements for exterior property maintenance. According to Grabfelder, Mayfield Village, Mayfield Heights aand Lyndhurst have already adopted the IPMC.


As always, the devil is in the details. Council needs to have a look at just what standards and requirements the IPMC imposes before acting on Grabfelder’s recommendation.



Firefighter Training
The State of Ohio has mandated continuing education for firefighters. Fire Chief Bill Turner came up with a great solution for providing that training. He successfully applied for a multi-community FEMA grant, which will provide computer-based training for firefighters in our city and 7 surrounding communities.


FEMA will pick up 80 % of the approximately $ 179,000 cost of the training computers, software and peripherals. The cost to Highland Heights and the participating communities? About $ 4,800.


Council was quite appreciative of Turner’s efforts. “It sounds like you are getting alot of bang for your buck,” Councilwoman Cathy Murphy commented, “Great job.”



Giant Eagle’s Get-Go Proposal
Councilman Bob Mastrangelo shared with Council details of Giant Eagle’s recent presentation to the Planning & Zoning Commission. Mastrangelo asked, “Is the city interested? If not, it makes no sense to look at zoning requirements.”


Council continues to take a wait and see approach with regard to the proposal. It is unclear what the best way to rezone the property to allow for gas pumps would be (voters will have to approve any zoning change). Several Council members also expressed concern over the possibly piecemeal development of the property---with the retail building coming in after the Get-Go portion is installed.


“There is going to be a bit of a leap of faith,” said Mastrangelo, “like with Lance Osborne and the Shoppes of Alpha. A developer will come in with a concept, and restrictions can be put on it.”


Mayor Coleman told Council that it was possible that the city could enter into a development agreement with Giant Eagle, which would set timetables and impose restrictions to ensure that the retail portion of the Catalano’s property was developed in a timely and appropriate manner.


Councilman Ed Hargate suggested that the city hire a professional planner to review any proposed zoning change to make sure it was consistent with the city’s master plan. Hargate was concerned that the master plan remain effective and enforceable.


Everyone seemed to agree that the city would not rush to get the zoning issue placed on the May ballot---something that Giant Eagle has been optimistically hoping for.


You can be sure that there will be many more discussions held before—or perhaps if--- the project moves forward.