My notes from last night's meeting of Stow City Council are below:

--We obtained our piece of steel from the World Trade Center, Brian Reali announced. The steel I-beam will be the centerpiece of a new 9/11 memorial to be constructed outside of city hall, near the flagpoles. The beam will sit atop a polished granite rendering of the Pentagon, with flowers surrounding the monument. It should be very nice. There is a committee charged with raising $28,000 of private money. The goal is to have it ready by next September 11.

--The city received good news with regards to grant money for road projects, including the Norton Road-Darrow Road intersection improvement, the resurfacing of Norton Road between Darrow Road and Stow Road, and the Graham Road project.

--With the mild winter, Stow is spending less money on overtime for street department workers. To date we have spent about $8,000 on overtime, compared to about $24,000 this time last year.

--The Planning Department announced an uptick in occupancy on Commerce Drive. The rate is 89.5 percent occupied, compared to 82.8 percent in September 2010. I think we need to repave Commerce Drive if we want to adequately showcase the remaining vacant properties.

--We approved the fee waiver for the Humane Society's rummage sales. I made a second motion that made the waiver permanent, and that was also approved. There's no sense in holding an annual meeting over a $50 fee. A business wouldn't do that.

--The council unanimously approved the changes to the building code. I proposed an amendment, which was also unanimously accepted, to repair wording and clarify one section of the code.

--The council also unanimously approved the contract with the village of Peninsula to perform their building inspections. Since the Monday meeting, I made several changes to the agreement to better protect Stow's interests. These changes were incorporated into the final approved version.

--Please note that Matt Riehl and I will hold our open hours on Tuesday, February 7 at City Hall, in the second floor conference room at 5:30 p.m. Please drop by and say hi, or ask us questions. We're happy to have as many visitors as possible.