Review of Emergency Communication Plan

After a June council meeting when many had issues with basement flooding, I wrote this: During last week’s storm people needed help and wanted answers. Because of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 residents prompted the mayor to work on an Emergency Communications Plan and to create a Task Force. Today we are almost 3 years past that superstorm and I asked, in June, what happened to the plan. The short answer Sutherland gave me and the nearly 50 other residents in attendance was that she “is still working on it”.

On October 12th the Environment Safety and Community Services Committee met to review the recommendations of this Emergency Communication Plan.

One piece of information no longer valid is Nixle. The city and residents now utilize Ready Notify. Ready Notify is a mass notification system used by municipalities in Cuyahoga County. “Its primary use is for emergency notifications, when rapid and accurate information is essential for your immediate safety.” You can read about and sign up for Ready Notify here:

http://ready.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/ReadyNotify.aspx

Of course there are other safety measures in place that the police and fire department must review and keep up with, but it was Sandy, the flooding and a recent gas leak that had frustrated residents pointing out there are some key missing actions when an emergency occurs.

The basic steps outlined in this plan during an emergency event:

Mayor’s email blasts

Ready Notify

Activate social media through the Police Department as they have a Facebook page and the department is staffed 24/7

Activate messaging team

Pop-ups on city website

Communicate using sign boards at City Hall and Board of Education. The Recreation Department sign will be replaced with electronic signage.

There was discussion of a neighborhood ambassador program. This relied solely on volunteers. There is no formal program as the feeling was this unfolds naturally when an emergency arises.

The discussion and the plan can be viewed here:  http://www.cityofbayvillage.com/media/277850/2015_environment_committee_minutes_10-12.pdf

Behind the Times

How long would it take the city to implement video, televised, and live stream council meetings? Every time I see something like the linked article, I get inspired anew and then I shake my head. Who knows if it is just election talk in Beachwood, but that council wants to move forward with televising and live stream council meetings to include call in or mail in questions.

Bay hopes to have their new recording equipment in place by the end of the year. Every time a concern pops up it seems to go back to the drawing board for weeks. This has been discussed and planned for nearly two years now – and this is just microphones and audio. 

There were several good points in this article. My favorite: "If we're going to effectively communicate, I guess the way to do it is streaming and having meetings available (on video)."

http://www.cleveland.com/beachwood/index.ssf/2015/10/beachwood_will_explore_live-st.html#incart_river_home

MashUp from Recent Meetings

(10/17 FB post) I, like so many of you, have this thing called a day job. I do not always have the time to share my ponderings about the meetings I attend. We live in an era where there is this thing called a mashup – defined as “a mixture or fusion of disparate elements”. From various meetings beginning September 14th through October 12th, in no particular order, enjoy my mashup.

Microphone Project: (10/12) A review of the equipment fact sheet proposal by JAVS.

The entire system is controlled by a tablet or pc. The League of Women Voters is willing to add the cost of the tablet to the current equipment estimate of $17,957. If the city approves the proposal, the LOWV will meet to revise their budget and change the amount of the donation to include the tablet. Bravo!

The system can be extended to include video without a lot of additional equipment; it would require a software upgrade.

The Mayor stated (9/21) that the project would include wiring the conference room and having 2 microphones that would come in and out with the Clerk of Council. This proposal showed microphones would be mounted. Because of the privacy concerns of Mayor Sutherland, Paul Vincent is seeking more information. You can review the entire proposal here: http://www.cityofbayvillage.com/media/277853/2015_-_services__utilities_committee_minutes_10-12.pdf

Tale of Two Ordinances: Ordinance regarding Unsolicited Publications and an Ordinance regarding sidewalks to be cleared of snow and ice.

The Unsolicited Publications Ordinance came about as a result of a couple of complaints about snow blowers hitting phone books that had been tossed in the snow or covered by snow and the residents not knowing they were there. Westlake created a similar ordinance that was defeated.

Ordinance to have the sidewalks cleared if a resident failed to do so and the cost of such had been the topic of much discussion. A resident raised the concern that the current draft of this ordinance did not address corner lots. Once a resident shovels and the service snow plow truck piles back on, what is the fairness of requiring a resident to remove it? The fees, if the city had to remove snow after a resident had been warned were heavily debated.

The mayor, the law director and some members of council sited residential snow removal as a safety issue for children around the schools. It may be a safety issue for dog walkers and joggers, but I can tell you – living where I live, I know that when a flake falls, children are driven to school save for very few, if any walkers.

Both ordinances were removed at this time. Steve Lee stated he believed it beneficial to learn from our neighboring communities about programs that work rather than go forward with something people are not comfortable with.

Online Ordinance Codification: The Walter Drane Company has updated the city’s ordinances for 2015. Paul Vincent had proposed the city change to Municode. Mr. Ebert stated the city has used Walter Drane for a long time and would like them to have an opportunity to make a presentation.

Erosion of Glen Park Culverts: A resident spoke at two meetings about this concern on his property.

Service Department: Due to General Foreman Gordon Evans retirement, the new supervisor will be David Banjoff. Also, the sewer maintenance supervisor will receive an increase because he will be placed on call. Scott Thomas feels it is important to have 3 supervisors on call instead of 2. Tom Henderson thanked Mr. Thomas for the job descriptions included with ordinance.

The city is required by the state to begin taxing gaming winnings even though Bay Village is a charter city.

The Green Parking Lot Project began October 6th with hopes to be done in 4 to 6 weeks depending on weather.

Bay Days fireworks and rain date approval: The mayor has long been opposed to a rain date due to the coordination of staffing issues and overtime. If there is no rain date and the fireworks are cancelled due to weather, the fireworks company retains half the cost and the other half of the money goes to the fireworks fund for the next year.

Tis the season for budget and finance discussions…

In the Dark, Not Always a Bad Thing

As Dwight Clark once said, “Time for our favorite part of the meeting – audience questions.” It is a time during council or committee sessions for residents to voice concerns or ask questions in a forum where it becomes public record. Last night, a young couple, along with their school aged children addressed an issue that continues to affect their family. They attended to state “complete and total dissatisfaction with the way the ordinance complaint was handled”. They wanted the city and council to understand what went wrong and why. They still have concerns and looked for assurance that expectations going forward would be met.

This family of four has resided for 15 years near a school building that recently underwent a renovation. As an abutting property they should have received notice of a public hearing regarding construction. They did not receive notices of any kind from the city. “We clearly would have attended because we have had this issue in the past.” The issue and the ordinance they refer to is 1176.08 LIGHTING. “Sources of light for illumination of structures, off-street parking areas, off-street loading areas or any other light sources shall be shielded so as not to be objectionable or hazardous to occupants of adjacent property or users of the public streets.”

Observing the construction progress this summer the residents knew that the lighting being installed would cause a problem. They had experienced the same issue a few years ago when improvements were made to the school lot and after getting nowhere then, the city stepped in. There was an inspection and it was found to be in violation.

This July as soon as they realized they were adding two more light poles – going from one to three, and already familiar with the impact of one, they reached out during the construction phase to John Cheatham of the building department; who in turn contacted Daryl Stumph, Assistant Superintendent of Operations for the schools. The residents were told if there was a problem after installation to let the city know. Mr.Cheatham conveyed that Mr. Stumph stated they would not be adversely affected. After installation, he stated that the lights are LED and shine down (as opposed to being broadcast). Mr. Stumph and the architect looked after dark and said the street lighting is more aggressive on the house than the parking lot lights. The mayor contacted Clint Keener, School Superintendent to resolve the issue because it is on school property. After the residents had an exchange with the building official, and asked that he review the complaint in person, he decided –without looking at it, there was no violation of code - and refused inspection. It was their council representative that eventually got the ball rolling to get the fabrication for the lights.

This brings us to the point where shields will be installed for the lighting facing their property. They are grateful for this but remain unsure the issue will be resolved. They are concerned over the specs of the work order and whether they have researched and studied the angles and lengths of the shields. They are concerned their property value has been compromised. They feel if the process had gone the way it should have this could have all been avoided.

They requested to be made aware when the inspection will take place so they can be present.

They appreciate those that put forth an effort to assist.

A complaint was submitted to Safebuilt and never acknowledged.

This is another issue that – pardon me – sheds light on several problem areas and attitudes in our systems. This time it is not just the City, but the Board of Education as well. It is frustrating when, as a resident, you do what is expected of you to be a good neighbor but do not get the same respect in return.

More Sewer Notes

A compilation of notes from the 9/24 sewer meeting and 9/28 committee meeting re: Bruce Douglas Russell.

Service Director Scott Thomas and CT Consultant Bob Greytak explained the testing, project and plans for the area. Recent tests show how each house’s private drain is connected to the sewer system. The results of computer models show existing sewer infrastructure does not have the capacity to drain water at a rate that meets the homeowners’ expectations. Also, people’s expectations of the dryness of their basements have changed over time given there are more finished basements now. The amount of rainfall is changing. For every 50 linear feet of publicly owned sewer, there are as much as 300 feet of privately owned drains feeding into that.

Mr. Thomas discussed the next steps, timing, costs and financing, he noted the guidance was preliminary and subject to change. It may take multiple years because of budget cycles. Mr. Thomas suggested a group of 5 people to serve as neighborhood representatives, but not all audience members liked the idea.

Other areas face the same difficulties.

Audience feedback: Belief that the selection of their area for improvements is unfair. Belief the engineer’s recommendations will not create results. Belief that homeowners should not be responsible for paying for improvement but the cost should be paid by the city and shared among all taxpayers.

At Monday’s meeting a resident from the area and in attendance on the 24th commented: A lot of people were upset and want this project to move quicker. He understands not everyone will be satisfied and they need to find a happy medium. It is cost prohibitive to design a system to collect rains for a hundred year storm. The frustration level is that it has been so long and nothing has moved forward.

Also on Monday, Paul Koomar asked when engineering might be wrapped up on this and wants a time frame from CT Consultants. CT Consultants has not put together an RFP (Request for Proposal).

Thank you to everyone that contributed to these notes.

The Downspout Ordinances

From 9/28, Monday’s Public Improvements Street/Sewers/Drainage Committee and Committee Meeting of Council regarding Amending Ordinance 913.08 Downspouts, Roofs and Yard Drains and 913.11 Corrective Order and Expenses. Several other issues were covered – I’m writing as fast as I can.

Council at Large Steve Lee spoke to a point that has been discussed before. Many of us have said this and it was good to hear it again from a council member. In regards to amending the ordinances concerning downspouts, etc., he would like to encourage the mayor to consider the idea of a committee of homeowners. "We are trying to creatively manage storm water and the idea is to be involved in this process with different options and not just for council to do this. We have a lot of great experts in this town and I’ve been approached by 2 people, both engineers, who expressed an interest in being involved in this and looking at creative ideas in different methods in managing storm water. Not a short term thing but a long term thing and I would like to encourage use of some of these experts.” He felt this important since the discussion is about managing storm water on the homeowner’s property. He said it is not a committee that is going to help develop a master storm system.

913.08 The ordinance reads: Downspouts, roof and yard drains shall not be connected to any sanitary sewer.

The proposed amendment would add: The disconnection of downspouts for splash boxes, rain gardens, rain barrels or other devices may be permanent provided that no discharge flows onto adjoining properties or public sidewalks. Splashing of downspouts requires a minimum distance of five feet from the house, five feet from the adjoining property and shall be located on ground level.

Discussion included questions of whether an inspection fee or permit will be involved. To just disconnect the downspout – no; If the project became more complex as in a cross connection and you have to dig, etc. a permit is required.

Tom Henderson suggested implementing an incentive for people to disconnect.

There was discussion on how to avoid rain runoff and buffering of property so as not to cause problems for neighbors. Steve Lee: “We do not want to create new problems for our neighbors when we are taking steps on our own property.”

Why a 5 foot distance from structures? It is an engineering recommendation. Every property is different.

A resident questioned the placement of five feet, which is not a lot of space between some of the houses in Bay. If you run it 5 feet straight out, front or back it will go onto impervious areas creating the potential to flood. We already have an ordinance in place stating you cannot direct your spouts into your neighbor’s property.

An audience member expressed that the problem still comes back to the sewers not being large enough to handle storm water to begin with. So everybody disconnects and now it goes down into paved areas and streets and it will be the same problem with water coming back into the houses.

Steve Lee presented a resident’s suggestion that the city use its purchasing power to buy rain barrels, etc. so residents can obtain a discount. The mayor advised that rain barrels are currently available for purchase through the county. Others expressed that a discount was not the only reason for the city to purchase but also, for the effectiveness and continuity.