Caucus: March 1st 2021
MINUTES OF A COUNCIL CAUCUS
MAYFIELD VILLAGE, OHIO
Monday, March 1, 2021 – 7:00 p.m.
Videoconferenced in Main Conference Room-Mayfield Village Civic Center
Present in Main Conference Room: Council President Schutt and Mrs. Betsa. All other members of Council, Mayor Bodnar, Ron Wynne, Law Director Coyne, Chief Matias, Tom Cappello and John Marquart in attendance via ZOOM. The remainder of the Department Heads accessed the meeting via videoconference.
This meeting can be accessed by going to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvBvI0xXSeQ
Council President Schutt stated, good evening. Tonight is the Mayfield Village Council Caucus meeting. It’s Monday, March 1, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. This Caucus meeting has been duly noticed and will be held in accordance with Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22 specific to recent amendments made in light of the current COVID-19 declared emergency (House Bill 197-amended by House Bill 404). Under the orders of Governor DeWine and the Director of Health of Ohio, and pursuant to Ordinance 2020-08, adopted March 16, 2020, Council will be meeting remotely, via electronic means. No one will be in Council Chambers or able to access that space during the meeting The public is invited to view the meeting live and can access the meeting through a link posted on the Mayfield Village website at www.mayfieldvillage.com.
Mayfield Village will conduct these proceedings in compliance with all applicable State Laws and regulations.
ROLL CALL:
Present: Mrs. Jurcisek, Mr. Marquardt, Mr. Meyers, Mrs. Mills, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Schutt, and Mr. Williams
Also Present: Mayor Bodnar, Mr. Coyne, Mr. Wynne, Chief Matias, Mr. Cappello, and Mr. Marquart
PENDING LEGISLATION:
ORDINANCES:
- Ordinance No. 2021-01, entitled, “An Ordinance repealing and replacing Mayfield Village Codified Ordinance Section 521.20 relating to smoking in Mayfield Village.” Introduced by Mayor Bodnar. (First Reading – January 19, 2021; Second Reading – February 15, 2021) (Administration)
Council President Schutt asked, are there any questions?
There were none.
Council President Schutt stated Ordinance 2021-01 will move to Third Read at our March Council Meeting.
- Ordinance No. 2021-02, entitled, “An Ordinance appropriating funds for current expenses and expenditures of Mayfield Village, Ohio for the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 and declaring an emergency.” Introduced by Mayor Bodnar. (First Reading – January 19, 2021-Read in title only; Second Reading – February 15, 2021) (Finance Department)
Council President Schutt asked, are there any questions?
There were none.
Council President Schutt stated Ordinance 2021-02 will move to Third Read at our March Council Meeting.
RESOLUTIONS:
- Resolution No. 2021-05, entitled, “A resolution requesting the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer to adjust the amended official certificate of estimated resources for 2021.” Introduced by Mayor Bodnar. (January 19, 2021-Read in title only; February 15, 2021) (Finance Department)
Council President Schutt asked, are there any questions?
There were none.
Council President Schutt stated Resolution 2021-05 will be considered at our March Council meeting.
MAYOR:
Thank you, Council President. I have some comments that I will reserve for later on to open our discussion of pedestrians safely crossing Wilson Mills at Village Trails.
For now, I would just like to remind everyone that we have a very important Special Election coming up on March 16th and I would encourage everyone to get informed on the issues. There’s a comprehensive article in the recent Voice of the Village. Please get out and vote either by mail or on March 16th at the Civic Center. Thank you.
Council President Schutt stated, thank you Mayor Bodnar.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT:
Our next Council meeting is Monday March 15, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. This meeting will be held virtually.
ADMINISTRATION:
- Recommendation of Community Reinvestment Committee and approval of Agreement with Holiday Inn
Mr. Marquart stated, thank you, Mr. President. I have got a couple of items coming up that will require action at the March 15th Regular Meeting that I wanted to bring to your attention this evening, first of which is a proposed Community Reinvestment Area Agreement between the Village and the new owners of the Holiday Inn on Beta Drive.
You will all remember roughly a year and a half ago, the State of Ohio approved our application to establish the CRA which allows the Village to offer real estate tax abatement to developers as a financial tool to assist development. I have been working with that hotel for roughly a year on their redevelopment plans. Unfortunately, they decided to undertake these plans at the worst possible moment given the fact that the COVID-19 crisis has affected the hospitality industry probably harder than anyone, which is sort of why we are having this discussion to assist them in their renovation plans. But first and foremost, they’ve got to correct roughly 30 years of neglect, particularly when it comes to mechanicals and safety and building efficiency, so they’ve got to spend quite a bit of money just to sort of get to square one. Secondly, they want to make the hotel much more appealing to the business traveler once the pandemic is over. We think the time is right to offer this incentive to them to sort of help bridge that gap and position the hotel for success once the pandemic sort of subsides.
As you will see in your packets, we have negotiated with them a 10-year Agreement for 75% abatement of the improved value. I think it’s important to remember too that under this program, the level of taxes paid to the County and to the schools and to the parks and libraries will never decrease below its current level, so the hotel will continue to pay at least what it’s paying now. The abatement is only for the improved value which is roughly $1.1 million of eligible funds so at 75% that equates to about a $26,000 savings per year to the hotel over 10 years.
We have run this past the Mayfield City Schools several times. We have had some very good conversations with them and I am happy to say that they are supportive of the Agreement as currently written. We’ve got to clean up a few things with the Law Department before we convene the Committee, but that’s essentially where the deal stands. Again, it’s 10 years, 75% abatement on roughly $1.1 million dollars of value.
I am happy to field any questions either tonight or at the meeting. Hearing none, Mr. President, should I move on to the next item?
Council President Schutt replied, yes. Please.
- Mayfield Community Improvement Corporation (“M.C.I.C”) Annual Review of Incentive Agreements (Virtual meeting immediately before Regular Meeting of Council on 3/15/21)
Mr. Marquart stated, thank you. The next item is kind of a routine matter of business for us and that’s the annual review of the income tax rebate incentive program. There’s a brief memo in your packets as well. No action is obviously needed tonight but in two weeks we will need to take action on three of these.
Just briefly, Marketresearch.com, formerly known as Freedonia Group: they are wrapping up year five of a five-year Agreement. They are not in compliance. They did not meet the minimum income tax generated, so no payment is required there.
Wireless Environment, formerly Mr. Beams: they are wrapping up year four of five. They are in compliance. That Agreement is a 30% rebate of their income taxes. That amounts to roughly $16,501 that will be paid this year.
Preemptive Solutions: they are finishing up year two of five. That is a 30% rebate in excess of the baseline value. That payment this year will be $2,605.
Mars Electric: You may remember they amended their Agreement after year one to slide the reporting calendar back one month, so we don’t have a report on them this month. We will need to reconvene one month later, but by all accounts, they are doing well this year.
QED: they finished up a five-year Agreement. You may remember with that one, no annual payments were required. It was a lump sum payment in year one. That Agreement is now expired, but it’s important to note that they’re holding their own during the pandemic. Income taxes were down roughly 10% this year, but they are still doing very well and they are one of our most valuable taxpayers.
The other Agreement that we won’t need to take action on, but I just wanted to bring to your attention, was approved last year and that’s OMNI Systems relocating into 701 Beta. Their Agreement does not commence until January 1st of this year which means year one payment will be due roughly a year from now, but it’s important to note that in 2019 their income taxes paid to the Village were roughly $26,650. In 2020 they jumped to $133,576 which is obviously about a 400% percent increase, so we are very proud of the growth they have had. They are roughly one and a half years ahead of their growth projections under that Agreement. I am happy to report that they’re doing quite well.
That concludes that brief report. Again, I would be happy to field any questions at this point.
Mr. Murphy stated, hey, John, thanks a lot. Are any of these ones that are expiring, can you do a new one or are the companies inquiring about doing a new one?
Mr. Marquart replied, no one has inquired at this point Councilman. All of the Agreements are written with a paragraph that states that they are free to come back and ask, so there’s nothing that would prohibit them from doing so. In speaking with the Mayor and Mr. Wynne and Mrs. Wolgamuth last month, we thought sort of the year-end reporting would be a good time to reach out to the companies that are expiring or close to expiring and have this year’s reporting sort of be the entrée to that discussion; what their needs are, what their growth needs are, what their levels of staffing are looking like. So, the door is going to be opened as we send these annual reviews out into the mail.
Mr. Murphy stated, thank you.
Mr. Marquart replied, thank you.
Council President Schutt asked, are there any other questions for Mr. Marquart?
There were none.
Council President Schutt stated, thank you, Mr. Marquart.
Mr. Marquart stated, thank you, Mr. President.
ENGINEER/POLICE:
- Recommendations for crosswalk at Wilson Mills and Village Trails (Engineer/Police Dept.)
Council President Schutt stated, I believe Mayor Bodnar has a presentation she would like to share.
Mayor Bodnar stated, I do. Thank you, Council President.
Well as you know, we had some residents on Wilson Mills east of SOM reach out to their Council Representatives inquiring as to whether or not we could put a crosswalk where Village Trails intersects with Wilson Mills. Council Representatives Jurcisek and Murphy brought that to our attention. We thought it was definitely worth revisiting and having that discussion, so we have done that. We have with us tonight our Engineer, Mr. Cappello and our Police Chief Matias to review with Council everything that you are concerned about or that you have questions about. But before we do that, I have a brief presentation where I thought it would be good to give everyone a little bit of historical context and then also present what the options are and I hope that that will then launch us into a productive discussion as to what to do next. [A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is attached to these Minutes]
Jeff, if you go to the next slide. Just a little bit of history of the sidewalk. In about 2001, at the request of some residents of Hanover Woods, the Village installed a four-foot wide asphalt walkway on the south side of Wilson Mills and that ran from Beech Hill to Hanover Road. This was actually an extension of an existing asphalt walkway on the south side that ran from SOM Center Road to Beech Hill that was installed decades earlier. In 2019, as part of our Wilson Mills Resurfacing Project, we upgraded the walkway to a five-foot concrete sidewalk that ran from SOM Center to Hanover Road. The cost of that was about $220,000.
Our next slide please Jeff. Thank you. The following year, in 2020, the sidewalk was extended from Hanover to Echo Drive. On the south side of Wilson Mills, it ran from Hanover to Village Trails and then on the north side it started at Village Trails and went east to Echo. The cost of that was about $238,000. At the time we were doing that work, based on the recommendation of our traffic engineers at TMS Engineering, we decided not to put in a crosswalk at Wilson Mills at Village Trails. They deemed it to be safe not to put that in and we followed that advice.
Next slide please. Thank you. So the options we have at this point, and we figured about four options, and we are willing to consider anything else also, but the first option was just to leave things as is; to make no changes or improvements. The engineers had indicated earlier that there was sufficient sight distance in both directions to see vehicles approaching and they believed the safest way to do this then was to not mark that intersection with a crosswalk.
The second option we have is to install a traffic signal and a crosswalk at Wilson Mills and Village Trails. This would of course impede the traffic flow somewhat on Wilson Mills. We would have to do a traffic study before we could install a traffic signal and crosswalk. We believe that the traffic study would not warrant a signal because we don’t believe that it’s going to show enough people crossing at that intersection. We are told that if we put in a traffic signal where it is not warranted, we could increase the Village’s liability. Keep in mind that part of the reason a traffic study may not show enough pedestrian traffic to justify a traffic light is because people may not be crossing that intersection or allowing their children to cross because they don’t believe it’s safe. That could be part of the reason why there’s not a lot of pedestrian traffic crossing at that intersection.
The third option that we looked at was we can install a crosswalk with pedestrian crossing signs. We don’t have any data or information which would show that a marked crosswalk would increase pedestrian safety. In fact, there is serious concern that it could create an additional safety hazard because pedestrians might have a sense of security then that they could cross whenever the sign said they could and that vehicles will automatically stop at that crosswalk. That may not be the case. Again, the flashing lights at the crosswalk are not recommended by our traffic engineers and again a traffic study needs to be done to justify that installation.
The fourth option we looked at would be we could extend the sidewalk on the north side of Wilson Mills to SOM Center Road. So that would go from Village Trails where it ends now and go all the way west to SOM Center Road. That would then enable people on the north side and the south side to be able to walk to Town Center without needing to cross Wilson Mills Road somewhere east of SOM. There will be still instances where residents want to cross Wilson Mills east of SOM. People may have friends or their children may have friends who live on the other side of Wilson Mills. So they still may want to cross at a different point.
So the cost that Mr. Cappello has given us is an estimate to extend the sidewalk on the north side. It would be about $700,000. It’s a pretty pricy project. Part of the reason it would cost a little bit more than other sidewalks is it is going to disrupt some trees and plantings and it’s going to require more significant grading and that would increase the cost of installation.
Thank you Council President. I will turn the floor over to you. Again, I remind everybody that Mr. Cappello and Chief Matias are here with us to address your concerns and answer any questions. Thank you.
Council President Schutt stated, thank you, Mayor Bodnar. We will open up the floor to any questions.
Mr. Meyers stated, back when this project was developing, all these issues came up and one of the biggest issues was crossing Wilson Mills. When they did the traffic study, they assured everyone that because that was the center of the straightest part of Wilson Mills Road that it would be the safest. At that time they said we would not have to put a crosswalk in and it wouldn’t be a big issue. So, now, a couple of years later, people are starting to use it and they are starting to realize this is going to be a problem. I don’t know the solution but this all came up in the beginning, even before Chief Matias was here, so it’s one of those things that we are going to have work through together. Thank you.
Council President Schutt stated, thank you, Councilman Meyers.
Mrs. Jurcisek stated, I know you mentioned before when I was questioning it and the Mayor mentioned it as well, the concern is the false sense of security pedestrians would have with a crosswalk there. Obviously putting a crosswalk with signs there is an easier fix than option four of investing $700,000 in installing sidewalks. Is it something that, obviously there’s not a lot of pedestrian traffic now with it being winter, but at spring and summer is it something that we can monitor? The sidewalks are fairly new. Is it something we can monitor there like you had said that you would do to see if there’s an increase in flow and maybe revisit the crosswalk; leave it as is and then revisit the crosswalk in a few months?
Chief Matias replied, I will start off the answer and then I will throw it over to Tom if he has any input. If we are going to seriously consider putting in a marked crosswalk, we would have to do an engineering study and that engineering study would include observing pedestrian traffic because we already know what the vehicle traffic is and we already know the dynamics of that, the roadway in the crosswalk or the area where the crosswalk would go, so the question would be the amount of pedestrian traffic and so that’s what the traffic survey would provide.
Mrs. Jurcisek asked, so a pedestrian survey would have to be done if it’s just a crosswalk and not a signal? I don’t necessarily think the traffic signal may be a good idea right there on Wilson Mills because I agree with Mayor Bodnar that it would interrupt the flow of traffic, but a pedestrian survey would have to be done regardless of if it’s a traffic signal crosswalk or just a crosswalk with some signage?
Chief Matias replied, yes. All the information we have so far, like in the study we did before the sidewalk was put in, shows that it’s not a place where you need to install a crosswalk.
Mrs. Jurcisek stated, okay.
Chief Matias stated, so with all the data we have, it’s no crosswalk, no marked walk, I should say.
Mrs. Jurcisek stated, okay.
Mayor Bodnar stated, and Councilwoman Jurcisek, what we’re told also is if we do the study and it does not justify anything added in the way of a crosswalk or anything like that and we go ahead and put one in anyway, that we are doing that at our own risk. Mr. Coyne, maybe you could jump in and give us a little legal perspective on that.
Mr. Coyne stated, sure. Basically when you put in traffic signalization, you need to get a warrant. So it’s a traffic study that’s undertaken and it’s done using the ITE Manual and objective traffic criteria. If it concludes that you don’t need to put in a traffic signalization or crosswalk in that area, one, the State won’t help pay for it, but that’s not the issue here necessarily anyway, but that if there would ever be a future accident, the Village could have liability should that occur because it could be perceived to be impeding the safe flow of traffic. So you usually don’t put in traffic signalization, crosswalks and traffic devices unless you have a warrant and you’ve got a credible traffic engineer that’s advising you to do that. Now that liability I will say is typically fairly remote because most accidents are still caused by driver error, but if it had to do with impeding the flow of traffic to close to another signalized intersection, you could have problems.
Mrs. Jurcisek stated, okay. Thank you.
Chief Matias stated, and then just to kind of summarize what I was saying earlier, what I want everybody to understand is that based off all the engineering data and all the research we have done on it, putting a marked crosswalk there won’t make pedestrian crossing any safer. If I thought it would, I would be the first one advocating for it. I’m not saying it’s going to make it less safe even though I am concerned that with the false sense of security and knowing how as times motorists don’t follow all the traffic laws, that there could be a false sense of security with people crossing, thinking if I’m in the crosswalk, I’m safer. That’s kind of speculation, but what we can say is there’s no data for this type of roadway and where the crosswalk would be, say if we put a crosswalk there, it’s going to make things safer. I think that’s the important thing to understand.
Mrs. Jurcisek stated, sure. Thank you. I appreciate it. Not only talking about that piece of Wilson Mills from Village Trails to Echo, but sort of leaning into option four with the sidewalks on the north end sort of addresses pedestrians crossing at any point at Wilson Mills. You see residents crossing Wilson Mills from any of those side streets over there. With the sidewalks running on the north end, I agree that’s a significant sum of money and the houses on that side seem to be closer to Wilson Mills than they are on the south side, so at any point in time, I am assuming some of the sidewalk research was done before, have we questioned or surveyed the residents at all on the north side of Wilson Mills?
Mayor Bodnar asked, Mr. Cappello?
Mr. Cappello replied, I know there was a survey done when we were doing the sidewalk to the east. I’m not sure if everyone on Wilson Mills was asked. Diane Wolgamuth might have a better idea on that.
Mrs. Jurcisek stated, okay.
Mr. Cappello stated, just so you know, the cost for the north side sidewalk is a portion of the section we just finished from Hanover to Echo. I had to put new curb and new drainage structures in. I might not have to do that as much in the north, but I didn’t want to give you a price and then it comes in way over. The range could be less than $700,000 obviously, but again that gives you a good idea of what we are talking about. Again, I can’t remember Brenda, do you recall about the survey?
Mayor Bodnar replied, no, but I was going to ask you and I can’t recall this, is whether, I know we had looked at it, those sidewalks we were looking at possibly putting in on the north side, were they in the right of way for the most part?
Mr. Cappello replied, what I would try to do in that case, the power poles are in a position that would allow us to keep most of this walk in the right of way. Some issues are some of the yards have very sloped front lawn areas that are higher so I would have to cut the grade down and grade back into their yard. Again, that’s not undoable. We had easements on the other project. We would have to maybe get in a few locations some easements and grading easements and things like that. The issue too is there’s a lot of people who have a bunch of vegetation along there. They like it for screening, but it’s in the right of way. It could be removed. It’s not like it can’t be removed.
Mrs. Jurcisek stated, okay. Is it something that if, obviously this is a bigger project like I mentioned than the crosswalk, if it is something serious that other Council members or the residents voice that they are looking to want, can we send a survey to the residents in the area? Is that something that we do?
Mayor Bodnar replied, yes, we could do that. So you are looking at two things, asking the people in the area whether they would want the sidewalk on the north side and also surveying the residents on the north side to see what their feelings are about putting in a new sidewalk in front of their homes?
Mrs. Jurcisek replied, correct.
Mayor Bodnar stated, we could do that.
Mrs. Jurcisek stated, I’m just curious. I know what you are mentioning Mr. Cappello, that there’s a lot of vegetation and it would take away from some of the front yardage over there. I’m just concerned about seeing what they think about it.
Mayor Bodnar asked, Mrs. Jurcisek, you did hear from some residents who asked for the crosswalk, right?
Mrs. Jurcisek replied, for the crosswalk from Village Trails to Echo, I did hear from a few concerned residents if there should be and if it was ever looked into. I had gone to them after the Chief and I spoke to them and they seemed to understand and were okay. Again, it’s wintertime, so there wasn’t a lot of pedestrian traffic and the sidewalks are fairly new over there.
Mayor Bodnar asked, so you have had some interest in people wanting to make it safer so they could cross?
Mrs. Jurcisek replied, correct.
Mayor Bodnar asked, and Councilman Murphy you have had that too also, right?
Mr. Murphy replied, yes. I have had a couple of conversations. I’ve had it on both sides of the coin. I’ve talked to people that said there’s enough sightline that I feel safe enough and then there’s some people that say I see cars whipping around there and I don’t feel safe at all. Jen, I don’t mean to cut you off, but I had a couple of questions too when you are done.
Mrs. Jurcisek stated, sure. Thank you, Mr. Cappello and Chief Matias.
Mr. Murphy asked, that option two for a signal, that’s a signal like the signal on Ridgebury right by the high school right, where it only turns red if it is actuated by a person correct? I mean, we’re not going to red when no one’s there to cross, right?
Chief Matias replied, no. That would have to be a regular traffic light because there’s an intersection there. The one on Ridgebury is just a crossing and since there’s not a side street or another roadway attached to it, we are able to make it the flashing light only activated when the button is pushed. If we put it there, it would have to be a regular traffic light.
Mr. Murphy asked, so what would we have to do to make it a signal that’s only activated by a person? Do we have to move the crossing one way or the other? Is that worth looking into?
Chief Matias replied, when, and if Tom wants to jump in on this, but we had a meeting with the traffic engineer about that because I had looked into if we could have the flashing signals pedestrian activated. For those we can’t just put them there. We have to get approval to put them there. So we’d have to have the engineering survey and again the engineering survey would probably say that we can’t put a flashing light there.
Mr. Cappello added, there wouldn’t be a justifiable amount. Currently at the current standards, the amount of pedestrian traffic crossing would not justify it.
Mr. Murphy stated, okay. So, not at the current location of where the crosswalk is, but if we move the crosswalk one way or the other; I don’t know. I am just throwing out an idea. I don’t think we need a signal there to stop the people from Village Trails coming up to sit at a red light every time, but one of those pedestrian activated signals that they can punch and it hits a red light and stops traffic, I think might be a decent idea.
Mr. Cappello stated, that would again have to probably be moved either to the west or east so it’s not near the intersection like Chief Matias was saying. The other thing though is again, according to the traffic engineer, he was saying that they usually have to be justified by volume of traffic or a certain design feature or shortened sight distance which we don’t have here right now.
Mayor Bodnar stated, the other thing that concerns me is that when we decided where to jog the crosswalks, we put it at that place because the engineers had told us that there’s sufficient sight distance on either side to see the vehicles approaching and that was why that location was chosen so if we moved it east or west, I am concerned that we would not have the same amount of sight distance on either side and that would be a safety factor there.
Mr. Murphy stated, I just don’t want to lose sight on, we’re hearing that people aren’t safe, but don’t worry, our engineers say it’s safe so you’re safe.
Chief Matias stated, I’m not saying it’s safe. What we are saying is that there’s nothing to justify putting a signal there. Based on all of the engineering data and the information with the research we have done it is not saying it’ll make it any safer or necessarily any less safe just on a roadway with the traffic volume and pedestrian volume, it doesn’t affect it either way. We’re not trying to say it’s safe. We’re trying to say that putting a crosswalk in won’t change the safety factor at all.
Mr. Murphy stated, correct.
Mrs. Mills stated, I think if you do a survey Mayor, you must include Kenwood and Robley because those are the high traffic walkers and we have a lot of young children now. In fact tonight when I went out, we had some bike riders because the weather sort of changed and everybody wants to get out. It’d be interesting because I have had people that live on Robley complain that they like to walk up to Oakwood and cross and go to into that area. They have their way of walking. They walk every day. Usually their course seems to be Wilson Mills to SOM down to Thornapple and then back into Kenwood. Chief, have you ever ascertained, I don’t know how you could do it, how many walkers we have? I have a lot of dog walkers and whatever on our street all the time. I think what would happen if we put a crosswalk at Echo, then people on Robley, people on Kenwood and people on Oakwood are going to demand the same thing. I think we have to be very cautious about that. What I do hear is the speed and Chief, I don’t know how you can control that, just by being there day and night. You can’t do that. That’s not fair to your force. They have other jobs to do. It used to be that they would put a cruiser down on Beech Hill and that sort of slowed people down, especially on the high traffic times. I don’t know what the solution is. I think we must be aware of that whole quadrant that is on the north side of Wilson Mills if you do a survey.
Chief Matias, stated, Mrs. Mills just to answer your question about that. I did a traffic survey using our stealth speed box in 2019 and then another one in 2021. Just so everybody knows, the pre-COVID daily traffic volume for Wilson Mills in that area was about 8,000 cars per day. It is currently about 5,000. When we talk about the traffic studies, they normally look at vehicle volume as between 9,000-12,000 daily volume before they start seriously considering things like marked crosswalks. When I did the two traffic surveys, the speeds weren’t terribly bad. The average speeds were usually, I would have to look at the data, but around 39-40 an hour. Yes, we do have the high flyers but they are few and far between. Our officers have been doing traffic details. I know in February we wrote 6 or 8 traffic citations doing traffic details in the Village Circle area. We’re doing traffic enforcement there. The traffic surveys I do are two weeks long each but they give a pretty good sample. Again, I can share that data, but the majority of drivers are going within reasonable speeds for that area.
Mrs. Mills stated, it seems like the speed is always going east into Geauga County. It isn’t so much when they are coming into Mayfield Village for some reason.
Chief Matias stated, right.
Mrs. Mills stated, I don’t know why that would be.
Chief Matias stated, and the traffic surveys we did showed the majority of the higher speeds are the westbound vehicles which I was surprised at myself. I had assumed it was always eastbound because you’re going downhill, but it is the westbound traffic.
Mrs. Mills stated, well, as long as we take into consideration all the people in that area, I think we will be safe to prove our point why we can or cannot do it. But our primary thing is always safety of our citizens so we just have to be aware of what’s going on.
Mayor Bodnar stated, so I will work with Mrs. Wolgamuth. We will take a look at the old survey that we did. I don’t recall asking about us putting a sidewalk on the north side, but we can go back and we will take a look at that and figure it out. Certainly we can do more inquiries of the residents to see what they want and the people who live along the north side who would have the sidewalk if we decided to put one in. We will do a little bit more legwork on that and we will get back to everybody on that.
Mrs. Mills stated, well, with the new sidewalk on the north side we would have to consider a 5-foot one because of the snow plowing. There’s a lot that goes into it that the normal resident doesn’t understand, engineering and police control and snow control. That’s the things that they want.
Mr. Murphy stated, before we go down the path of putting a sidewalk on the north side and asking residents, which I don’t know, sounds extreme to me, do we take a sample of the Echo, the Village Trails, the Hanover, the Kenwoods, you know near Patsy and ask, have you crossed that street and do you feel safe crossing it? I don’t know, is that worth it rather than just going straight to, let’s ask about a crosswalk on the north side? I don’t know. We don’t want to be sending out surveys every other week. I understand that.
Mrs. Mills stated, I think the hardest part to put the sidewalk in would probably be between Kenwood and Oakwood because those houses are really close to the street. The rest of the areas, even from Echo on up to SOM, seems like there would be enough land to put a sidewalk in without too much trouble. There are some tough spots in the middle of the block from Oakwood to SOM, but that’s few and far between. A sidewalk is expensive.
Mr. Murphy stated, Jen and I have only heard from a small population of the people living right around us.
Mrs. Jurcisek stated, right. And that is concerning the residents just crossing at that area from Village Trails to Echo. I think the sidewalk survey would lead into bigger discussion of residents crossing Wilson Mills at all of those different points sort of like what Mrs. Mills was getting into. So I think a bigger discussion is not just crossing at that point at that certain intersection.
Mrs. Mills stated, yes, well that’s what I said, once we put even some hash marks in the street there, people that live on Robley and Kenwood and Oakwood are going to want the same thing and they are going to think they’re safe, right Chief? Because they are in that crosswalk and the laws says. That doesn’t mean the people are going to obey the law.
Mayor Bodnar started, so I think before we take any action, I think we have to continue with this discussion so I would recommend that I work with Chief Matias, Mr. Cappello and Mrs. Wolgamuth and we look at all the different options again and maybe we put together an outline and we give that outline back to Council and then we can work off that to judge what future action to do. We wouldn’t be sending out any surveys to anybody at this point. We would try to maybe focus our discussion on what the best alternative would be and maybe what the lease intrusive alternative would be and whether that could be safe or not. I will go back to the table and work on an outline. I will get the input of Chief Matias and Mr. Cappello and I will work with Mrs. Wolgamuth and we will put together something to give to Council for our next round of discussions.
Mr. Murphy stated, and I have got a fifth option. A bridge right over Wilson Mills.
Mayor Bodnar stated, that has been suggested to me as well as an underpass.
Council President Schutt stated, I guess one other option too then would we potentially want to may put some street signs up. I’m not exactly sure where we have the speed limit signs over there. I would have to drive through there again. But can we put those smaller signs underneath that say Strictly Enforced and things of that nature that are drawing attention to people driving through there saying, hey, slow down? I don’t know if something like that would help, Chief? Do you feel that those types of signs help like Strictly Enforced and things of that nature with the speed?
Chief Matias stated, no. To give you the easy answer. People don’t pick up from the signs.
Council President Schutt stated, okay. I was just curious because I have seen some of those here and there.
Chief Matias stated, yes. We have them. We have Strictly Enforced going eastbound but again I don’t think the signage will make any difference because like I said if our goal is to get everyone driving 35 miles an hour on Wilson Mills, it’s never going to happen.
Council President Schutt stated, sure.
Chief Matias stated, the speeds I have gotten in my speed studies do not show any overly ridiculously speeds happening on a regular basis. It’s few and far between. We’re targeting the times of high volume, trying to show our presence there and we will continue to do that through the spring and summer. It’s going to be one of our permanent spots, but again, there’s nothing that I can do to add the sense of security of somebody crossing a roadway like that. It really comes down to volume. If you are going to cross between 7:00 and 9:00 in the morning you are going to encounter a lot more cars than if you go to cross between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. or 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. It all comes down to volume.
Mayor Bodnar asked, if I can ask Mrs. Jurcisek and Mr. Murphy. The people that talk to you about it, were they concerned for their own safety or for the safety of their children and crossing Wilson Mills?
Mrs. Jurcisek replied, the individuals that I talked to were concerned for their own safety who have crossed over there before and have encountered and seen traffic.
Mayor Bodnar stated okay.
Council President Schutt asked, any other comments or discussion?
There was none.
Council President Schutt stated, thank you everybody for your commentary. That was a great discussion. As Mayor Bodnar mentioned, we will get some more information and kind of regroup at a later date.
FINANCE:
- 2021 Budget
Mr. Wynne stated, I provided an update for the 2021 budget last week with some minor adjustments that were made since you received a detailed copy. I do not anticipate any changes between now and the Council meeting for the final approval, but if there are any questions on the budget, I am always happy to entertain them this evening or in between now and the Council meeting.
Council President Schutt asked, are there any questions for Mr. Wynne?
There were none.
Council President Schutt stated, thank you, Mr. Wynne.
SERVICE:
- Fertilization of Village-owned properties (TruGreen Commercial $12,339.98)
On behalf of the Service Department, Mr. Wynne reported, this is our annual fertilization program for the Village properties. The Service Director went out and got competitive pricing from several companies that we dealt with in the past. TruGreen Commercial came in with the lowest price of $12,339.98. They will be asking for approval at the March Council meeting for this expenditure so that we can plan for the Spring fertilization program.
Council President Schutt asked, any questions for Mr. Wynne?
There were none.
Council President Schutt stated, thank you, Mr. Wynne, are there any other matters to come before Council?
There were none.
There being no further matters, the meeting concluded at 7:46 p.m.