9/6/2012 - West Side Leader
     

Fairlawn Mayor William Roth said now is the time for the city to refinance its debt. According to the mayor, the city will be able to save $500,000 or more by making the move as quickly as possible.

“We’ve looked for years for an opportune time to refinance our debt — to take advantage of low interest rates. It appears that this is the proper time,” he said. “The planets have aligned the way that we want them. We estimate — based on the figures that we’ve been given — that we’ll save half-a-million dollars in interest.”

During the Sept. 4 meeting, Fairlawn City Council unanimously passed an ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of not to exceed $5.2 million in bonds, to refund certain portions of the city’s outstanding bonds and authorizing related matters in connection with the bonds.

“The city has financed debt in the past to remodel City Hall, build a new police station and to build a service center,” the mayor explained. “This year, due to low interest rates and the city’s very high debt credit rating, we can refinance. The bonding councils tell us they estimate we’ll save between $500,000 and $550,000 over the course of the debt.”

Roth said the city owes “between $4.6 million and $5 million.”

“There are certain fees and costs, and all that other stuff when you’re calling in notes, and that’s why it says $5.1 million,” he said. “That’s not the entire debt. It’s below $5 million, which for a city this size is really good. That’s the only debt we have.”

Also during the meeting:

• Council gave a first reading to an ordinance authorizing Roth to “sign the necessary deeds consolidating two adjoining city-owned lots into one located on Bicentennial Boulevard to be used for municipal purposes.”

“This falls under the category of ‘housecleaning.’ These are the vacant properties right next to the fire station,” the mayor said. “These two lots were acquired at different times, and what we’re doing is moving to consolidate the lots into one lot.”

Council also gave a first reading to an ordinance permitting Roth to sign the necessary deeds consolidating “three adjoining city-owned parcels into two parcels located along Ridgewood Road to be used for municipal purposes.”

“This is where the soccer fields and the community garden are,” Roth said. “Again, we’re just moving to consolidate these lots.”

• Roth said the city’s 2013 budget process has begun.

“The department heads have submitted to me their operating budgets, which I am reviewing,” he said. “We’ll start having the department heads in with Council, as we normally do, to review their budgets for the upcoming year.”

• Law Director Ed Riegler said the city has received “a notice to negotiate” from representatives of the firefighters’ union signifying the unit wishes to renegotiate wages for the employees as allowed by the current contract.

“It’s all part of the process under the collective bargaining law of Ohio,” he said. “The only item that will be negotiated is wages, because we are in a three-year contract. The contract expires December of 2013, but there is a wage reopener for January of 2013.”

• Council gave a first reading to an ordinance approving the transfer of 12,326 square feet of city-owned real estate on South Cleveland-Massillon Road to Fairlawn’s Community Improvement Corporation “for the purposes of economic development.”

“We’ve received several offers from various entities that wish to purchase this property,” Roth said.

• An ordinance accepting a bid from Mulch Makers of Ohio as “the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the 2012 leaf pick-up program” was unanimously approved by Council.

Council authorized Roth to enter into a contract with the company for $62,521 for this year’s program.

Deputy Service Director Ernie Staten said letters will be sent out the week of Oct. 5 notifying residents of the dates for the leaf pickup program.

The dates will be Oct. 22 and 29 and Nov. 5, 12, 19 and 26, he said.

• Zoning, Housing and Residential Building Commissioner Chris Randles said the city’s annual neighborhood inspection program is “pretty much wrapped up for the year.”

“We inspected a total of 737 properties, and out of that we ended up giving out 111 letters for violations,” he said. “As we stand today, 95 of those violations are now closed. We have six where we’re working with the property owners and we’ve given extensions to them. And right now, we have 10 that are still open cases.”

• Council approved a resolution designating Oct. 28 as “Beggars’ Night” in Fairlawn.

“The only thing residents need to know is that they need to turn on their light if they wish to participate,” said Parks and Recreation Director Laurie Beisecker.

“Beggars’ Night” will last from 5 to 7 p.m.

• The minutes from the Aug. 13 City Council meeting were unanimously approved.

The next Fairlawn City Council meeting is set to take place Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at Fairlawn City Hall, 3487 S. Smith Road. The next Committee-of-the-Whole meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. in City Hall.

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