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Norton Council discusses city issues

4/26/2012 - West Side Leader
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By John Benson

Clearing the air was the unofficial theme of the nearly 90-minute Norton City Council meeting April 23 as residents spoke their minds regarding a number of issues facing the community.

The meeting began with Councilman Dennis McGlone (at large) talking about sending entertainment device arcade legislation, including zoning changes, back to the Planning Commission after he said members of the administration and the public weren’t notified properly.

Councilwoman Charlotte Whipkey (at large) asked what went wrong.

Law Director Peter Kostoff responded by saying it was his understanding the Planning Commission put it on the agenda without proper notification to expand zoning categories.

Next, Parks and Cemetery Board member John Conklin spoke to Council about the city’s decision to move forward with relocating its prekindergarten Safety Town operation from Cornerstone Elementary to a site in Columbia Woods Park between the Shirley L. McGuire Community Center and the fire station. The idea is to pour a concrete pad in the area for shared use by Safety Town and the community center.

“As much as the Parks Board is trying to keep on things and make recommendations to Council, sometimes we get behind the eight ball and are not up to speed,” Conklin said of the Parks Board not knowing about Safety Town’s move. “We were just wanting to say we’re trying to do the best job we can with the information we have, and because of our lack of information, we’re not able to give City Council the recommendations [on the move] they should have.”

Councilman Todd Bergstrom (Ward 1) questioned who proposed a concrete pad.

City Administrator Rick Ryland said Safety Town officials asked the city to move its operations due to safety concerns. The plan is to spend between $20,000 and $25,000 to expand an existing concrete slab located near the community center, he said.

“When I first heard about this, my first opinion was I love to have new ideas presented to Council and the administration, but I do like it to go through protocol,” Bergstrom said. “They [Parks and Cemetery Board members] can be a first line of reasoning. I think we should let the Parks Board look at different things we want to spend that money on and then voice their opinion on safety concerns.

“I urge us to reconsider what we’re doing, especially in light of other financial stresses,” he added. “Either we keep it at Cornerstone or be creative here.”

Whipkey questioned why the Parks Board wasn’t approached about the matter.

Mayor Mike Zita said Economic Development Director John Moss tried to contact Conklin. He added the city did get a few estimates for the proposed concrete slab project.

“I’m hearing about how we have legislation being sent back, and I have the Park Board in front of me,” said Whipkey. “What is wrong with our communication that nobody in our city knows what everybody is doing? There’s something broken here, and it needs to be fixed. There’s something wrong here, and somebody is not performing the way they should be. I try hard to keep up with what’s going on here.”

Ryland said he made all of Council fully aware of the entertainment device arcade legislation, as well as the Safety Town concrete slab plan.

In other business, residents Jack Pogue and Dennis Pierson questioned whether the city had been mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up the septic tank issue in the city.

“I have a letter from the EPA in 2009 that says there are a number of failing septic systems,” Ryland said. “It’s not a mandate but a letter recognizing it and reminding us of our responsibility. That is why we are doing what we’re doing.”

Councilman Don Nicolard (Ward 2) said last week he and the mayor talked to the EPA about the city’s issues, including Nash Heights’ massive storm sewer needs. He said he asked the EPA if the city didn’t follow through with the Nash Heights projects, what would happen. He said the EPA representative said they’d turn it over to the EPA’s legal department.

“Remember a few years ago we brought to Council how we were 600 times the legal limit?” Ryland said. “We are still in violation of that and still doing water-quality checks. We’re in violation nearly every place in our city. They look at how much dirty, nasty water we’re putting in our streams.”

Councilman Bill Mowery (Ward 3) said, “I just want to make sure if there are other options.”

Ryland replied, “The options exist, but if the city puts a sanitary sewer and you’re 400 feet within that, you have to tie in. It’s not a ‘Here we can do this’ and ‘Here we can do that.’ You have to have a plan.”

Nicolard suggested taking a step back and looking at engineering a sanitary sewer for the entire city. He said the cost of the Nash Heights project is around $4.6 million, and for the entire city to have all of its issues fixed, it would be in the $60 million range.

“I have no idea where that money is going to come from,” Nicolard said. “This is going to put us in a downward spiral. We should continue engineering throughout the city. That will keep the EPA satisfied. And once that’s completed, we have to sit down to get grants. This is a ridiculous amount of money. The city doesn’t have it. The residents don’t have it. The financing should be the biggest priority. One thing for sure is a plain, old-fashioned septic tank isn’t going to cut it anymore. Let’s not wait.”

Also during the meeting, Council approved an ordinance authorizing the mayor and finance director to enter into an agreement for property and casualty insurance with Wichert Insurance Services Inc. through April 28, 2013.

The next Council meeting is set for May 14 at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at the Safety-Administration Building, 4060 Columbia Woods Drive.

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