What Happened at the April 22, 2013 Committee Meetings of Stow City Council

My notes from Monday night’s meetings are posted below:

FARMER’S MARKET – Stow Community United Church of Christ is seeking a permit to conduct its weekly farmer’s market again this summer. Last year, the farmer’s market grew steadily in its second season. They started out with three vendors. Last fall, they had 14. If approved, the market will open June 8 and will continue for the next 18 Saturdays.

NEW SERVICE DIRECTOR – We discussed legislation to appoint Nick Wren as service director, to take over for Mike Miller, whose contract will expire on April 31. Mike was an outstanding service director. He will stay on as a part-time human resources director. I’m confident Nick will do a great job. We anticipate hiring a replacement for Nick, who will vacate the job of assistant service director.

LAWSUIT AGAINST TASER PLAINTIFF – Council discussed hiring a law firm to sue Chelsea Garrett, the young woman who sued the city after having a Taser used on her. The city cleared the officer of all wrongdoing, but accepted the insurance carrier’s recommendation to settle for $100,000. (The insurer paid the settlement, but Stow paid a $15,000 deductible.)

The city was induced to accept this deal because Ms. Garrett agreed to keep the settlement and its terms confidential. … Ms. Garrett didn’t take that responsibility  seriously. No sooner than the ink dried, she got on Facebook and the TV news with her lawyer (yes, with her lawyer!) to spike the football. Her comments included a lot of facts that were just plain false. It is clear she has breached the confidentiality agreement, and the city is now seeking to protect its rights. The insurance company is paying for our legal fees in doing so.

MUTUAL AID – I called a Roads & Safety Committee meeting to discuss the adoption of mutual aid agreements with Mantua, Ravenna and Streetsboro. These agreements are necessary for providing help in emergency situations. Mantua and Ravenna, not being contiguous cities, are unusual choices for these agreements. I’m still fact-finding about that.

TRANSPARENCY AND GREEN SAVINGS ACT – We also had a meeting to discuss changes to the Transparency and Green Savings Act. Last week, the Implementation Committee met and agreed on some changes to the legislation.

This has really been a team effort, and I’m glad about that. I’m certainly not smart enough, or knowledgeable enough about city hall operations, to craft legislation by myself that revamps the entire city operation. So I truly appreciate the help provided by Dale Germano, Sara Drew, Brian Reali, Jim Costello, Helen Preebe, John Earle, John Baranek and Amber Zibritosky.

There are three major pieces to this legislation: 1) council going paperless, 2) the transparency portal, and 3) cutting paper printing in all departments over the next 5 years. The first two are mostly agreed upon and settled.

The third part has created some consternation, but we made changes that everyone can live with. The prior legislation limited spending on paper/toner/etc. The revised version limits the number of pages printed — so it’s more quantifiable. The prior legislation began cutting costs in 2014. The revised version kicks in immediately in 2013 — so as to credit the administration for paper-reduction activities enacted this year.

The bottom line is: In five years, city hall will use one-third the paper it used in 2012. This will save at least $100,000 over the next 5 years, and about $25,000 per year thereafter. Of equal importance, we will be doing our duty as stewards of the environment.

Below, I have posted the two most recent versions of the ordinances:

SECTION 117.06-4

AMEND CODE CHAPTER 117-4-3

City council will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. to discuss these ordinances and others.