December 2021 Council Meeting and Workshop Notes
Hi Hudson! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. I just have a few more gifts to wrap, and I’m done with holiday prep! Like some of you are probably experiencing, I am unfortunately still waiting on a couple of gifts I ordered over a month ago to come in after being delayed by supply chain issues. Hopefully they make it on time, but even if they don’t, remembering the reason for the season is what is important - sharing time with those you care about!
Below is a summary of the December meetings.
Because of the Holidays, there will be no workshop next Tuesday 12/28. Meetings will resume on 01/04/2022.
Reminder: City offices will be closed the Thursday and Friday before Christmas and New Year’s.
December 7 Council Meeting
The city’s summary can be viewed here.
To start off the meeting, the new at-large members of City Council along with myself were sworn in.
We then took a vote to elect Council President. Ward 2 Councilman Chris Foster was elected Council president with a 5-2 vote. Myself and Kate Schlademan dissented. To view my comments on why I voted “NO,” click here to watch the video of the meeting. Once the interface loads, click item #9 Council Comments.
Public Hearing
A public hearing was held on an ordinance which would amend parts of the land development code (LDC) to incorporate regulations to conditionally permit fireworks storage and fireworks retail facilities. These changes would permit fireworks storage and retail facilities as a conditional use within District 1: Suburban Residential Neighborhood. This text amendment change was initiated by American Fireworks.
Council Comments
Council comments ranged quite a bit. Some of the topics addressed were regarding the role of President pro tem, an update from the EAC, comments about Phase 2, and congratulations for the newly elected Council members.
City Manager Report
City Manager Jane Howington gave some updates on initiatives she and staff are doing to help onboard the new Council members, like the annual Council retreat.
Legislation
Councilman Chris Foster proposed legislation that is intended to repeal Resolution No. 21-116 (the legislation that previously approved the Phase 2 project to move forward) while simultaneously authorizing the sale of property in the downtown area to Fairmount Properties for development of Downtown Phase 2 pursuant to terms that are different than those terms authorized by Resolution No. 21-116. This legislation essentially removes the provision that the City will reimburse Fairmount for reasonable costs in the event we do not approve the project to move forward, and it requires the project to come back before Council for final approval.
December 14 Council Workshop
Discussion Items
Preferred, Limited-Preferred or Single Trash Hauler
Staff presented pricing for three service options – a preferred hauler program (what we currently have), a preferred + alternate hauler program which would have limited the haulers in Hudson to two, and a single hauler program. The difference between what we currently have and a single hauler program works out to about $8 per quarter or $32 per year. Because the majority of the Council felt this $8 was worth it to allow customers to have a choice in their hauler, the majority on Council directed city staff to move forward with the preferred hauler program. The point of the preferred + alternate program option was to find a way to get to a single hauler without taking business away from a local company, but when the bids did not satisfy this, Council moved on.
Recently, a resident pointed out to me that this works out to >$256K in additional payments for trash and recycling in year 1 of the new contract. Multiplied by three years, the residents of the town will be collectively overspending around $750K for service. This combined with the reduction of trucks and as a result, a reduction in emissions, is what leads me to still be in support of the single hauler program. However, I acknowledge that now might not be the time for the City to make this change. So, as you will see later on in this summary, this passes on the consent agenda at the 12/21 meeting.
City Stormwater Policy
We had a lengthy discussion on the city’s stormwater policy. Some Council members believe we should be doing more to help fix issues within the city, even if the issue is on private property. This is a slippery slope. I do not want the city to assume the cost of fixing stormwater issues on private property. We should be identifying areas with significant issues and doing stormwater improvements that benefits the entire area versus on one property. The fact is, Hudson’s soil is very wet and is very clay-like, which does not allow for effective drainage. We have 3 watersheds that run through Hudson (Tinker’s Creek, Beaver Creek and Mudbrook), so our land is very wet. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t have stormwater issues! If we go and try to fix every single stormwater issue on every single property in Hudson, we would bankrupt ourselves.
Council Agenda Review
Newly-elected (by his peers on Council) Council President Chris Foster stated that he will not be continuing the weekly planning meetings traditionally held with staff, and plans instead to use workshops to set the agenda.
December 21 Council Meeting
Public Hearing
A public hearing was held on a proposed amendment which would revise regulations related to internal illumination of signs within District 6 Western Hudson Gateway and District 8 Industrial/Business Park. A representative from a sign company as well as someone from Diebold Nixdorf spoke regarding the desired signage for the Diebold Nixdorf building and how their proposed signage is needed to increase visibility from the Turnpike.
Correspondence and Council Comments
Myself and a couple of other Council members wished our City Solicitor, Matt Vazzana, good luck in his new endeavors as he moves on from this position. Later on under Consent Agenda (Item 11. E. 21-0114), Council voted to appoint R. Todd Hunt of the law firm Walter|Haverfield LLP as interim City Solicitor effective immediately upon the resignation of the current City Solicitor. Mr. Hunt has worked with the city of Hudson for many years and is very familiar with our charter, LDC, personnel matters, the history of Hudson and more! He will do a great job for us while we look for a permanent Solicitor.
City Manager Report
Staff gave an update on the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS) funding for three projects for construction in 2026. All of these funds are 80/20 matching funds (FED/Local), and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) administers these grants. This is very exciting news, and I am grateful to staff for their hard work on this.
Consent Agenda
11. F. 21-150 A RESOLUTION DESIGNATING REPUBLIC SERVICES AS THE CITY’S PREFERRED TRASH AND RECYCLING VENDOR AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A SERVICE CONTRACT WITH REPUBLIC SERVICES.
Passes 7-0 – See summary above for an explanation.
Legislation
Items 12. A. 21-71 and 12. D. 21-141 were both postponed to the 01/04/2022 meeting because both are LDC changes which require passage by a ¾ majority, and since we had two Councilors absent, it did not make sense to vote on these that night.
Recycle Your Christmas Tree with the Merry Mulch Program
With Hudson's Merry Mulch Program, residents can set their live Christmas trees by the curb for the City to pick up and process into a natural mulch product. The program runs January 3 through January 28, 2022. Read more about how to recycle your tree(s) and find information on the pickup dates for each quadrant here!
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Have questions? Want to share your thoughts with me on any of the agenda items or issues listed above? As always, I would love to have a conversation! Email me directly at nkowalski@hudson.oh.us.
