2014 in Review

I offer you a few highlights from 2014. Scroll through the Facebook page and find the original posts, articles and the discussions with much more detail on these and other subjects. Still relevant topics, I encourage you to continue to comment and get involved.

January - Two Plain Dealer articles focus on Councils from several communities suspending the 3 reading rule. Bay is guilty of this practice. As one example, in 2013 between April and June, Bay passed 20 different ordinances on the first read under suspension of the rules. This year Council has a better response to the public’s concerns. I often hear Councilwoman Karen Lieske remind Council that the public wants the 3 readings. Also, when Council does elect to suspend the rule, they now take time to explain the reasons.

February – Discussions continued regarding a Regional Fire Department. New bicycle laws were brought forward. To date, further implementation of the bicycle laws seemed to have been dropped.

March – Town Hall Meeting with the focus being the sewer bill increase.

April – The State of the City address was presented by Mayor Sutherland in Westlake with a $20 fee to attend on a weekday in the middle of the day.

May – Joan Kemper won the raffle organized by the Fireworks Fundraisers.

June – Bay Village got a new Safety Director. The process was questioned because it had not been discussed publicly and was not noted on Council's agenda.

July – Discussion among residents regarding the proposed equipment at Cahoon Park walking trail. Residents also spend time discussing the deer population.

August – Fire regionalization committee met, discussions put on hold. Ward Meeting with Ward 4 Tom Henderson and Ward 1 Dave Tadych.

September – Questions regarding the Simple Recycling project and the misinformation presented by the City. Coincidentally, clothing donation bins disappear around town. Signup for Ready Notify; an emergency notification system. Wards 2, Paul Vincent and 3 Karen Lieske hold a Ward Meeting.

October – Discussions on hiring a Property Maintenance Manager. No clarity on whether the position was posted or not or had to be or not. NOPEC gas aggregation program introduced.

November – Celebration for the 100th anniversary of City Hall and the first meeting Council held in the building. Discussions on creating a part-time Human Resource position. Geoff Westerfield of the ODNR speaks to residents and Council regarding deer problems. The Mayor wants to ban smoking on City property including parks. The City holds a poorly advertised and poorly attended Town Hall Meeting. The motion to install exercise equipment at Cahoon Memorial Park passes – even though the project should have gone before the Planning Commission, it was not referred. The Mayor announced that along with City Directors they have streamlined the Planning Commission process.

December – Proposal for Civilian Dispatch. The removal of long time public servant Dick Majewski from his seat on the Planning Commission. This occurred coincidentally, or not, after he questions how the process for approval for Bradley Bay extension and Crestview Development got messed up. The question remains - who is responsible for that screw up?