Residents spoke out about proposed amendments to the zoning map during a public hearing.
No one spoke in opposition to the change. Council approved the zoning change for 12 parcels on the north side of Lakeside Drive to be changed from R-4 to PRD-1.
The twinplexes in the area will be sold as individual homes.
“They will be owner occupied and will be taken care of by owners,” said Council President Rick Justice. “This is a plus for the village. Long term, this is a positive thing for the Village of Lakemore, we just can’t go wrong with this.”
Planning Commission member David Jenkins said when the twinplexes were built, they were not built within the guidelines.
“The property lines, in some cases, go right through the middle of the living rooms. This will correct the situation,” he said.
The public hearing was conducted prior to the regular Dec. 7 council meeting.
Councilperson John Skipper said he had a report that it took 18 minutes at 6 p.m. for EMS to respond to a call at Farmer Boy.
“Anyone over 50 years old should be just as concerned about this as I am,” he said, adding that evening staffing needs to addressed by the fire department.
“The response times do need to be addressed,” said Mayor Mike Kolomichuk. “Although I appreciate all the concessions that the fire department has given at this point, it is not enough to make it work. We are going to make sure that we have the coverage that we need. Bottom line is that we need to increase the response times. They were referring to the fact that there is no one staffing the station at night.”
Councilperson Tammie Coontz said council is working on this with the fire department.
“The fire department has made some concessions and they have proposed some things to us and we have accepted one of the proposals,” said Coontz. “We will be talking about this at the next council meeting.”
In other business, Justice stated council is not in favor of a new bar going into the village.
“We took a step last Monday, Becky Dogherty, Capt. Ray, Chad Pryor and I met with Liquor Control to contest the license,” said Justice. “We can only let the chips fall where they may now.”
In regards to village water services, Justice said, “The water tanks were inspected a few days ago. There is quite a bit of settlement in the tanks. The water is fine and the tanks are working well but we need to keep up on the maintenance.”
Village Administrator Chad Pryor said he was concerned about getting a back-up plow truck with the budget constraints. He knew Edwin Shaw had one and he made a trade with them. They gave the truck to the village and the village will take care of the roads on the property while they are still there.
He also stated that a business owner in the village brought in a sum of money to help local families. The anonymous donation was used to buy families food and gifts
Kolomichuk said they will meet to work on the budget for the next year.
“The real challenge on planning next year’s budget is how we are going to make up the revenue from Edwin Shaw,” he said, adding every option and suggestion for alternative plans will be reviewed. “Challenges will continue going into 2010. It is going to be another tough one.”
Councilperson Marlene Hill said she was disappointed that more people did not show up for the fundraiser planning meeting to help pay for the new fire truck. Hill is in charge of doing a fundraiser this month. Jackie Bennett will do a February fundraiser.
Resident Marty Davies reported more firemen showed up at the meeting than residents. She said the fire personnel want the money to go into their fund and not to pay for the truck.
“I do not understand this,” she said.
Firefighters have stated that there were no fundraisers to pay for the police building, the village paid for it. So the village should pay for the fire truck. There was no one representing the department at the meeting.
“I am very disappointed that the fire department has taken that attitude,” said Kolomichuk. “No one is immune from budget and financial considerations. Sometimes an unorthodox way of accomplishing your goals becomes the most effective.”
He added that, obviously the way that business has been done in the past is not working currently.
“We need to look outside of the box to come up with some answers,” said Kolomichuk. “These efforts may not pay for the truck but if you have residents willing to make an effort to sacrifice their time to pay for what they can on the truck and they firefighters decline, that is awfully disappointing to me.”
An emergency resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with Summit County for the use of the regional 899 MHz radio system for a period of 10 years with a five year renewal was passed.
Announcement included, pictures with Santa can be picked up at the municipal building.
Coontz said Parker Hannifin Company collected $1,600 to send to Lakemore children to Shop With a Cop.
“They have always been supportive of the community,” said Coontz.
The next Village Council meeting is Dec. 22, 7 p.m.
