Questions and Answers from Town Hall Meeting now available

The questions and answers from the Town Hall meeting at St. John Lutheran Church held on September 24, 2009 are now available under the "Available Documents" link on the right-hand side of the page or by following this link: 4th Ward Town Hall Meeting, Sept. 24, 2009 Questions and Answers

4th Ward Town Hall Meeting a Success!

It was great seeing everyone out for the Town Hall Meeting last night! We had approximately 110 in attendance, plus the city officials. We are in the process of preparing a summary of questions and answers from the meeting and are working on posting a video of the meeting for those unable to attend. I would like feedback from those in attendance regarding the new format and any suggestions for improvement.

Thanks!

Mark

GULF ROAD CLOSING DELAYED

The closing of Gulf Road will be delayed one week and is now scheduled to begin on September 28 for 5 weeks (until approximately October 30).

The reason for the delay is that the contractor just informed the City that the structural steel for the retaining wall panels is a week behind.

Gulf Road Repair Work--Road Closed

Work on Gulf Road between Hilltop Park and Whitman Drive is scheduled to begin September 21, 2009 by Kokosing Construction. This includes the slope stabilization work on the hill by the wastewater treatment plant. This section of the road will be closed for approximately 5-6 weeks.

West River Road N. should be re-opened by this time, according to the Elyria Engineering Department.

Fire Audit Meeting

Last night, City Council met in a Strategic Planning Committee meeting (full Council) to review the Fire Audit and allow comment from the EFD and the public. The meeting was very productive. There are lots of areas of agreement within the Audit. The EFD takes issue with some of the information presented and the underlying data, but these areas were narrow and focused (although they do go to the heart of EFD's contention that its contract is not "overly lucrative" with room for cuts).

The administration stated that it has no areas of contention with the information presented by the Audit and that it will rely on the expertise of the Audit's preparers.

Chief Benton identified several items that are already being implemented by EFD, showing positive progress towards improvements and indicating his ability and leadership in his role as Fire Chief, in which capacity he has served for six months.

The next step will be for the administration and the EFD to develop an action plan of items that can be accomplished and should be accomplished. The plan should include costs associated with items, no-cost items and cost-neutral items. Council should provide a timeline for the development of such a plan and for its implementation, once approved. Although this was discussed and seemed to have consensus support, initial timelines have not yet been established. There was additional discussion at forming a subcommittee of Council to help facilitate this process.

EFD is currently in contract negotiations with the administration, which means that everything is open for discussion at this time.

I see this as a positive step in moving the City forward to help resolve the longstanding dispute between the administration and the EFD and to rebuild that department to make it more effective and, ultimately, to improve the safety of our residents.

EPD Update

At last night's City Council meeting, the administration announced that the City Jail will be closing at the end of September due to lack of money.

On a separate item, City Council voted 9-2 (Craig, Gibbs against) in favor of paying Chief Medders $21,810 for his personal legal fees, despite the fact that he was found liable by a jury for violating one of his officer's constitutional rights and lost his appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on his claim that he was immune from liability. Although the City had no obligation to pay these personal legal fees, which were incurred by Chief Medders in appealing the verdict, the administration supported the decision because it believes that the jury was wrong in rendering the verdict, which included a finding that Chief Medders' actions were malicious and awarded Officer Hetzel See punitive damages.

Special Meeting: Fire Audit Discussions on Wednesday, Sept. 9

SPECIAL MEETING: There will be a Strategic Planning meeting for the matter of the Fire Department Management Study, Sept. 9, 2009 at 6:00 P.M., Elyria City Hall Council Chambers (2nd Floor).

Also, keep in mind that the first September Council meeting will be on TUESDAY, September 8, due to Labor Day.