Invocation was given by: Barbara Brooks, clerk followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes – February 25, 2008
Johnson moved to approve, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

Workshop
a. Presentation by Frank Sasz - President, Rochelle Rossi - Vice President and
Joe Paonessa - Treasurer for the Ohio Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park Being Built in Clinton, Ohio
An 8-minute DVD presentation was given showing a model of the proposed park.
Sasz advised the land was dedicated in February 2007 and in August 2007 they had the
actual ground breaking ceremony where over 750 people attended. He advised throughout that same day they began the living memorial and had over 1,000 people including dignitaries from all branches of state and federal government come through the park. He advised Dick Goddard sang the national anthem and Eric Mansfield was the emcee for the event. Sasz advised the Ohio Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Park was going to be built in the Village of Clinton, Ohio, which is where Summit, Wayne and Stark Counties come together. He advised the cemetery has donated the land to them to be able to build this project, which was a $1.7 million dollar project. Sasz advised the granite wall would be 125 feet long with 3,095 names of Ohioans from the Vietnam War on the front and the back would have statistics and etchings from the French and Indian War to the present in order to honor all of the wars. It was noted, it would be a permanent monument to all Ohioans who served their country in times of peace and war. He advised there would be a model of the Huey Cobra AH-1G helicopter along with the Ohio, the US and the POW-MIA flags and six walkways to represent the six branches of service. Sasz indicated at a Veteran’s Day Ceremony on November 11th the excavation for the memorial wall was completed and the foundation was poured the next day. Currently Sasz advised there was a wooden wall people could sign if they wished and there were over 500 names on it already. He advised on their literature they wanted to honor the mothers who would never hold a child, the child who has grown up without a parent or the young wife who would never see her serviceman again and now even our daughters were giving up their lives so we may hold close the freedoms with which we have been blessed. He advised we want to honor all veterans and let them know we have not forgotten the cost of freedom. Sasz advised they were asking (any/all) to join with them in support of this noble endeavor to make the Ohio Vietnam Memorial Park available for future generations.
Rossi advised this was a $1.7 million dollar project and 40% of the funding was already pledged in less than a year. Rossi gave a list of some of the contributors who have already supported their effort and indicated how others could help by sponsoring a granite bench, a granite monument or a flowering pear tree with a granite marker each showing your support among others.
Council Member Lynn Beaumont inquired as to what kind of (financial) support they were
receiving from the American Legions around the state.
Rossi advised not as much as they would have liked, but she felt that was due to them not receiving the support they need from others. Rossi indicated the veteran’s organizations were giving them very good moral support. Rossi advised they were extremely pleased with the (financial) support from other areas.
Sasz indicated they had some discussions with the Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman, but advised it would take 7 years for the paperwork and they couldn’t wait 7 years, but they kept it in Northeast Ohio. Sasz advised they would be happy to speak with anyone who was interested.
For more information on how you can help and to see the DVD, which was presented at this meeting go to www.ohiovietnammemorialpark.org.

b. Discussion of Cost Saving Measures for the Service Department
Service Director Dave Simpson provided a list of cost saving measures being considered/utilized by the Service Department as follows:

• Durapatcher – A self-contained pavement repair machine. He advised it was a
two man operation and was a year round operation. He advised currently they couldn’t get lasting pavement repair this time of year because the hot mix plants aren’t open and the cold patch just doesn’t stay in the holes properly. Simpson advised the initial cost as of October of 2007 was almost $57,000, but with the labor and material costs being reduced so drastically it would pay for itself in a short period of time (2-3 yrs.). He advised he saw a demonstration twice and the patches hold up very well and if Council would like to see a demonstration he would schedule such and let them know when they could see such.

• Compost Sales – Simpson advised he would continue to look into the prospect of process compost and selling it to see if it was cost effect.

• Outsourcing – Simpson advised the employees used to do some of the chip and seal work and it has actually been more cost effective through the bid process to contract that work out.

• Street Light Maintenance – Simpson advised currently Ohio Edison changes
the lamps and the photocells on the city owned street lights and (the city) was charged for these items. He advised they met with Ohio Edison recently as they want to raise their rates on what they charge to do this service. Simpson advised he was investigating what it would cost to purchase a truck and do the work in-house as well as discussing with a contractor the cost for someone local to do it versus what Ohio Edison would charge the city in the future. He advised he would provide details when they were made available.

• Salt – Simpson advised they recently picked up about 40 tons (6 loads) of scrap salt from the Rittman Morton Salt facility and mixed it with rock salt to extend its usage. He advised over the weekend they picked up approximately 30 loads and residents might see water softener pellets in front of their house. Simpson advised he didn’t realize until this winter that Morton Salt got rid of so much scrap salt and they hauled another 6 loads in today. He advised Cargill has been slow in providing them with rock salt, as Cargill’s mines weren’t keeping up with the demand this winter. He advised the city was very low going into this weekend and without Morton’s help they probably would have been in big trouble. Simpson advised of the order he placed on March 3 for rock salt 50 tons came in today.

• Park Maintenance – Simpson advised they recently purchased a trailer to haul
mowing equipment and this will save the travel time it took to drive the mowers from park to park and allow the Service Department to haul other maintenance equipment to each park so a more complete job can be done without return trips and make the process a lot more efficient.

• Fuel – He advised when not necessary for the job or operation trucks and
equipment engines will be turned off to save as much fuel as possible.

Beaumont inquired if the city has to buy the bulbs and photocells from Ohio Edison.
Simpson advised yes as part of the agreement the city had with Ohio Edison. He advised it originally was a handshake agreement and a written agreement was made in 1993 and expired in 1997 and the reason Ohio Edison wanted to meet with them to say they had no agreement to work on the street lights and adjust their rates. Simpson advised Ohio Edison charges an exorbitant rate for bulbs and photocells and he felt it would be much more economical for the city to buy them and hire a contractor or use in-house help.
Mayor Robertson inquired as to the responsiveness of Ohio Edison on a repair/replace call.
Simpson advised in the past it would take nine minutes to get through their 800 number just to report it, but he found a website where street light outages could be reported he receives two e-mail responses back within ten minutes with a confirmation number and Ohio Edison was generally out within three days. Simpson advised it seemed as if the website had a better record keeping system and they have been responding quicker.
Robertson inquired if the scrap salt was going through the spreaders o.k.
Simpson advised he was working Saturday for a while and one of the guys complained they weren’t able to spread salt. He advised there were grates on top of the spreaders and they found six inches of caked scrap salt. He advised they had to take a spud bar and break it all up and that took quite a bit of time, but that was when they were using strictly scrap salt and once they mixed it with rock salt it was better. He advised they also had quit spreading salt about 11:00 pm, as it was snowing too hard and when they turned the spreaders back on at 6:30 in the morning it was a brick. He advised if they keep the salt moving through it wasn’t as bad.

Citizens Forum
Shawn Vallery of Joshua Drive and a self employed income tax preparer and agent indicated she would be offering her services free to those retired citizens who don’t normally file a tax return, but would need to in order to receive their $300 stimulus check. Vallery indicated she would have a table set up at the Rittman IGA on Sunday, March 16th and Sunday, March 30th from 2-4 pm to help those individuals fill out the required forms and save them $35.00 paying a tax service and she would mail their return in to the IRS for them as well. Vallery advised it was for those individuals who would file a SSA 1099 2007 form. Vallery indicated she would also be helping those at Autumnwood Nursing Home the 1st and 2nd week of April.
Bower inquired if this was only social security income and what if they have a small bit of 1099 income.
Vallery advised it was for those individuals who have not filed a tax return and were not required to file a tax return. Vallery suggested they bring everything with them and she would look at their eligibility.

Old Business

a. Res. No. 7480 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Ohio, Granting Tax Abatement to John Robert Riley, I for Allison Carole Properties, Inc. and Declaring an Emergency. Third Reading.
Res. No. 7480 was read on third reading. Copley moved to adopt, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

b. Ord. No. 7481 An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and Medina Counties and State of Ohio, Amending Sections 153.03, 153.07 and 151.01 (a) and Declaring an Emergency. Second Reading.
Ord. No. 7481 was read on second reading.
Copley advised in section one the (fire) chief had indicated that we keep percentages out to allow flexibility within the department. He advised the only concern he had with that was that a future chief might decide that one meeting per quarter was fine and he really didn’t want to go down that path. Copley advised looking at various communities in the area many of them were 50% or 60% attendance and the policy indicates 75% attendance. He advised as a business/ property owner in town he would like to see the firefighters have as much training as possible and from that perspective he would like to see the 75%, but he would be more apt to say 50% would be accepted if that was the wish of Council, but he felt they needed a percentage listed. He advised that way someone on the department would know what it was ahead of time. Copley advised the current policy also indicates there were several exceptions that were allowed and one of the concerns he had with the exceptions was that the more exceptions you add to the rule the worse the rule really was, which was why he would probably be satisfied with the 50% which was lower that what (fire chief) was requesting without any exceptions. Copley advised he realized there would be times when a firefighter couldn’t make the training 50% of the time, but from a personnel standpoint he felt the department head would be aware and it would not be that hard to schedule a makeup date or whatever it took to make sure the volunteer firefighters were training the best they could and at the same time being flexible.

Fire Chief Don Sweigert advised everything he (Copley) said made perfect sense. He advised the State of Ohio this past year has passed HB401, which basically states the minimum continuing education hours required to maintain your (certification) card. Sweigert advised as mentioned previously those hours were 54 over a 3-year period and they (RFD) exceed the state minimum. He advised the hours for training listed in this ordinance were really just continuing education hours or in-service hours through the department and didn’t include any hours that happen outside of the department such as a county school or the University of Akron or at Stark Tech., etc., but it was just for in-house. Regarding the exceptions Sweigert advised for a volunteer department he would love for everyone to show up 100% of the time, but parents coach sports and were involved in other community projects, had families and other jobs and it was becoming (a situation) where they need to work around and be flexible with those folks and make sure we utilize their expertise.

Copley advised he understood where they were coming from that they may not be able to make the training, but his fear was that the same guy who couldn’t make the training would respond to calls and not be familiar with new equipment and he inquired if it was really a benefit for them to show up if they were not familiar with their equipment. He advised he knew this was extreme, but he would prefer to see an alternate day in that same week or once a month or whatever it takes to get them to the 50% level. Copley advised the goal of the fire department was to protect the city and if they were not coming in for training they were not learning what they need to learn to protect the city and putting not only themselves and those they were working with in jeopardy, but members of the community. He advised he felt the firefighters had to give 50% at least and forget the exceptions. He advised they needed to make sure they had a way to get to that 50% alternatively instead of saying you can’t make it this week and that was fine, but try and make it next week and they may have an exception that week as well. He advised that really concerned him because with all the exceptions you could have you could go almost a whole quarter and maybe show up once or twice or not at all depending on how the officer provides the exceptions. He advised this concerned him from the standpoint of the community.

Sweigert advised the three exceptions were work, family event of a special nature ie out of town relatives, reunion or illness, head coach of a sports team. He advised the coaching many times ends at 7:30 and training doesn’t start until 7:00 and they should arrive at training ASAP.

Copley advised the exception that concerned him the most stated any other reason as long as approved by an officer prior to training. Copley advised he felt that opened it up to someone just saying they didn’t feel like coming in on that day.
Sweigert advised that was why you had faith in your officers and department head to do what was proper for the city and the citizens.

Copley advised he would hope; unfortunately he felt that a policy of that nature lends itself to playing favorites if one officer liked one faction of the department more than others and he didn’t think anyone on the department would deny that exists.
Sweigert advised he would deny it because he picks officers who disagree with him and he knew they wouldn’t play favorites.

Copley advised not necessarily your officers, but officers going forward. He advised he was not saying there were any officers on the current fire department that play favorites. He advised what he was saying was that it was a policy that allows an individual to report off to an officer for an old reason whatsoever and he felt that lends itself to playing favorites. He advised he wasn’t saying that would happen he was saying it could happen. Copley advised the other exceptions, if you were at work and couldn’t make it then maybe you should try to make it up. He advised those on the department to the step forward to serve the city as a firefighter. He advised that tells him they want to serve and at the same time they should want to show up for practice whenever they could. He advised he would think the chief would expect that out of them as well.
Sweigert agreed.

Copley advised there were some extenuating circumstances, but that was where the ultimate meetings come into play and that was why it was 50% and not 100%. He advised if they were told to be there 100% he could see why they would be royally upset because not everybody would be able to make it 100%. Copley advised our full-time departments don’t say you have to be there 100%.
Sweigert agreed. Sweigert advised whatever you (Council) decide to do we (FD) would follow it.

Robertson advised he felt the last (exception) was in there just because they couldn’t cover everything as it certainly was not the intention to say I don’t feel like coming in today, but rather something that didn’t fit in numbers 1, 2 or 3. He advised the department needs some flexibility to be able to grant (an excused absence). He advised he looked at it from that perspective rather than someone taking advantage of it or playing favorites.
Johnson advised in looking over the policy the only issue he had was at the end of the policy it states an individual my erase stuff our of their file.
Sweigert clarified it was the make-up training time.

Johnson advised if someone received a reprimand they must attend 100% of the scheduled training sessions within the next quarter. He advised what he didn’t like was if someone had several unexcused absences it should remain in their file. Johnson advised if he were to miss four days in a row at his job he was not given the opportunity to work four extra days in order for it to be removed out of his file. He advised he felt if something were placed in someone’s file it needed to stay there (permanently). He advised he felt they should still makeup (the training hours) and still be required to do something about it such as extra training sessions on Saturdays, but he didn’t think they ought to be removing stuff out of people’s files. Johnson advised obviously they (the employee) were in the wrong and were reprimanded for it and he felt it should stay in the personnel file and not be given the opportunity to be removed. He advised he didn’t like seeing stuff being placed into a file and then giving somebody the opportunity to have it removed to make them look good. Johnson advised that was something he didn’t like to see and he didn’t believe it was a policy that should be allowed in this city.

Robertson advised it was a volunteer organization.
Sweigert advised he understood, but there were some employees who have been on the department for 30 years and in their first years they had new young families and they could have missed 2 or 3 meetings in one quarter and were issued a written reprimand. Sweigert advised 30 years and he has attended all training since then and inquired if it would still have to remain in his file after 30 years of service to the community. Sweigert advised he felt there should be some way to say thank you for serving for 30 years because they have been dedicated employees. He advised he understood at a regular place of employment there were certain things to keep people working and he respected that and he didn’t know what was done in other city departments, but all he wanted to do in cleaning up this attendance policy was to get rid of the “3 strikes and your out” policy from the 1944 legislation. He advised he was trying to make it easier by stating what the standard operating guidelines were for the fire department. Sweigert advised he was sure the street department and EMS department had their own operating guidelines and he didn’t see those in codified ordinance form, but he would be happy to follow whatever Council decide to do. Sweigert advised he felt he was causing an awful uproar just for this little issue and he apologized, as he didn’t mean to take up Council’s time.

Beaumont advised with some exception you could commit a criminal offense in Ohio and after a period of time you could have your record expunged. He advised we weren’t talking about a criminal offense here, but somebody who misses a couple of meetings. He advised he didn’t have a problem with that (part of the policy) at all. Beaumont advised he assumed by the word erase they were saying expunged which means take it out of the file as if it never existed. He advised the only thing he would say would be they only got one try at it, as he felt they should only get one chance to expunge the record. Regarding the any other reason as long as approved Beaumont advised they had to have trust in the department heads and they had to permit them the discretion to make a decision and the reason they were department heads. Beaumont advised this was the reason they hire someone who was very responsible for his position and very well trained and he felt they should give him the leeway of determining whether or not a volunteer fireman has a proper excuse. Beaumont advised he understood Copley’s reluctance, but he really felt as a Council they had to say to our leaders “run your department”. He advised he didn’t feel they should take away their discretion to make decisions about people. Beaumont advised he felt they would run into more trouble if they try to narrow down exactly how he should do things.

Copley inquired regarding the Service Department as to their policy for missing days of work although he understood those were different circumstances.
Service Director Simpson advised the only policy the Service Department and/or Utilities Department had (regarding attendance) was if an employee misses two days in a row they were required to bring in a doctor’s slip. Simpson advised if there was a routine of taking Mondays off sick that was grounds for some disciplinary action, but there was nothing in ordinance form to back that up.

Robertson advised if they were hourly employees there was the penalty of not getting paid for the days they weren’t there, which was a little different than the volunteers.
Copley inquired if was there an actual attendance record kept or was it non-existent.
Sweigert advised he just finished up his year-end report and there was 82-83% attendance in 2007. He advised they look at the number of hours available for training and the number attended. Sweigert advised he believed there were four individuals who didn’t meet (the requirement) last quarter and he advised them when they could make up the training.
Copley advised with (36) members there were only 4 who didn’t meet it this last quarter. He inquired if this policy was adopted in January 2007.
Sweigert advised Chief Banfield had a similar policy and he added the coaching exception other than that it was about the same policy.
Johnson moved to place on third, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

New Business

a. Discussion of Street Improvement Projects
Johnson advised at the last meeting they talked about the list of streets to be done
(paved) this year and he felt Council should at least discuss the streets. He advised if there were other streets Council felt should be done instead maybe they could substitute one for the other (if the need was greater). Johnson advised City Manager Boggs did send an e-mail out after the last meeting. Johnson advised his biggest concern was Ohio Avenue, as he felt it was becoming the most shaky when driving on it especially the west part. He advised he has had people complain to him about other streets as well such as Rittman Road where it turns into chip and seal near Bauman Orchards.
Simpson provided a list of the paving programs from 1996 through 2006 and indicated W. Ohio Avenue from Main Street to Fourth Street was paved with the 2002 Paving Program and E. Ohio Avenue from Industrial Street to Sunset Drive was paved with the 1996 Paving Program. Simpson advised to pave all of Ohio Avenue from Crawford’s to Metzger Avenue would cost approximately $254,000 and was not in the budget. Simpson advised the worst section from Fourth Street to Metzger Avenue would cost approximately $37,500 if Council wanted to do that (section) this year. He advised in conjunction he would like to do a mill and fill from Gainer’s Barbershop to the square for the half of the road, which was deteriorating away and that would be approximately $6,000 or $7,000 job. Simpson advised he has the rest of Ohio Avenue broken out in sections if Council was interested, but with the money available to spend…He advised they deferred the 2007 project and the motor paving work needed to be done and the estimated cost was approximately $110,000 if they did the top four streets on the list. Simpson advised if you look at those roads they need to be done. Simpson advised chip and seal of the parking lot at Fritz Park they could use from the parks and recreation capital improvement fund and get that done this year without using the St. M&R capital money. Simpson advised the list should give Council some background to see how long it has been since they paved certain roads and the longevity they were getting out of the paving and the cost estimates would help Council decide what they wanted to spend this year. Simpson advised approximately ten years was what they expected to get out of an overlay project and they didn’t actually get ten years out of Ohio Avenue (2002 program) this last time and they have seen chuck holes for a couple of years.
Johnson advised he was hearing the biggest complaints about Ohio Avenue.
Simpson advised unfortunately the overlay was coming off and the potholes were less than 2 ½” deep, but it was still pretty aggravating to drive onto.
Robertson inquired if the piece of equipment (durapatcher) he was looking at buying come into play in this situation.
Simpson advised it was too far gone to be effective. He advised they could make a nice patch out of it, but the oil was gone from the asphalt and it would continue to ravel and come apart so it has served its useful life.
Robertson advised Council had a list with cost estimates and if they wanted to Ohio from Metzger to Fourth and inquired as to what on the list could they cut to come up with the $37,500.
Simpson advised the top four streets (College, DeCourcey, Gish and W. Sunset) needed to be done the worst and he added the next three if they had the funding, but it was a matter of priorities as to where the money needed to go.
Johnson inquired if the estimate for DeCourcey was the entire stretch of the road.
Simpson advised yes.
Robertson suggested Council look it over, drive the roads and see if there was a trade off for Ohio Avenue.
Simpson advised the Finance Director provided him with a few numbers. He advised they could use Perm Tax money on DeCourcey and West Sunset and West Ohio as they had $95,000 available in Perm Tax and $56,000 available in Perm Tax II and they have budgeted $40,000 for capital improvements this year. Simpson advised if Council wished to spend the money they could do Ohio Avenue and the top four streets.
Mann advised yes, but Council needed to keep in mind that if they spend all of their Perm Tax money they would have to wait and build it up again before they would have anything they could use.
Simpson suggested when all the snow was melted off DeCourcey to drive it and they would see the oil was pretty much gone. He advised it was just stone lying there and held together by luck right now and it needed to be done.
No further discussion.

b. Motion to Approve the Purchase of a New Crown Victoria Police Cruiser
for the Police Department Johnson so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

City Manager’s Remarks
Acting City Manager Dave Simpson advised Council had a memo from City Manager Boggs, which requested the purchase of a new police cruiser. Simpson advised they have done pretty well getting a new police car every year and Chief Burg was here for any clarification as to what he was looking at purchasing and the cost would be under the $25,000 bid limit. Simpson advised Council might wish to entertain a motion to go ahead and allow Chief Burg to make that purchase.
Johnson inquired if the vehicle would be a Crown Victoria and indicated if it was decided what direction they would go when and if they no longer make the Crown Victoria as rumored.
Burg advised yes it would be a Crown Victoria. He advised they haven’t decided what to do after the Crown Victoria’s were no longer available, but maintenance wise the city garage didn’t like front wheel drive and a lot of the maintenance would have to be outsourced. Burg advised the vehicle being replaced was a 2003 and had 112,000 miles. He advised they keep a vehicle for five years and rotate them out as necessary.
Beaumont inquired as to what was done with the old one.
Burg advised sometimes they were sold at auction and sometimes the Service Department or other department would get it.
Johnson inquired if the 2003 being replaced was currently a canine unit.
Burg advised no.
Mann inquired as to the total cost.
Burg advised $23,928.81 and included everything the striping and the swap over.
Mann advised they had $23,800.00 available so they might have to work around his figures.
Burg advised that would work because the equipment swap out and the installation could be done by the city and was covered under the maintenance contract with the exception of parts. He advised he was told last year they used approximately $200 worth of parts and the reason he added it into the quote.
Motion above – New Business Item B.
Acting City Manager Simpson advised he would like everyone to recognize the fact that our Mayor has received an award from the Wayne Economic Development Council. He advised it was the Chris Schmid Economic Development Award and it was formed last year and the committee spent a year looking for a good candidate and Mayor Robertson was the first recipient and the only person in Wayne County to get an award from the Development Council and he felt it was something for all of to be very proud of, “Good job Mayor”.
Mayor Robertson thanked everyone.

a. Approval of Financial Report for February
Copley so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

b. Finance Director’s Remarks
Finance Director Lucinda Mann handed out a cartoon on recycling and bottled water vs. using municipal water and she felt there were some very good points on the recycling issues.

Council Remarks
Council Member Lynn Beaumont thanked everyone for coming. He commended the street department as he felt they did a really good job with the roads (during the snowstorm) and he felt everything in town was in really good shape.
Council Member James Johnson thanked everyone for coming. He advised he agreed with Councilman Beaumont regarding the streets as he could tell a difference when he got into Rittman as you could actually drive on the roads. He advised great job on keeping up with that.
Council Member Darrell Carey thanked everyone for coming. He advised the streets were pretty cleared where he drove as well in town.
Council Member Charles Copley thanked everyone for coming. He agreed with the other sentiments regarding the roads. He commended the handful of firefighters who kept the bay doors free and clear (of snow).
Mayor William Robertson advised he received several e-mails echoing those same sentiments and read one as follows: “He would like to take this opportunity to thank the applicable city employees for the job they did this past weekend. The streets of Rittman were passable all weekend and were in good shape by Sunday morning. This in the face of a record breaking snowfall, he was sure these same employees hear when they do not meet someone’s expectations. I thought it only proper to commend them for their outstanding efforts.” Robertson advised that was only one of several e-mails he received and he asked Simpson to pass that message along to the crew.
Robertson advised the Chamber Director was working on booking entertainment for our summer festival and if anyone knew of any groups interested. He advised they were primarily looking for local Rittman groups who were interested in participating in the festival. He advised they should be contacting the Chamber Director and if she doesn’t fill all the time slots she would start expanding the search to get other potential entertainment venues.

a. Approval of Vouchers 48076 thru 48206 Including Then and Now
Certificates Johnson moved to approve, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

Motion to Adjourn – 8:20 p.m.
Johnson so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.