Council 02.04.2008

[Stan Austin]

This Board’s For You

Council President Michael Dever called the February 4, 2008 meeting to order at 7:37 PM.

The beginning of the year brings on the departure of board and commission members and the appointment of new members. Resolutions offered by Dever to council commended the service of two members of the Board of Building Standards/Architectural Board of Review/Sign Review Board. The two members who completed a full five-year term were George Kubas II, and Traci Nelligan. During their tenure they served as Chairman and Vice Chairman of that body.

Mayor Edward FitzGerald announced several mayoral appointments. He appointed Tamara Karel to the Planning Commission for a six year term; Heather Rudge and Marcia Moll to the Heritage Advisory Board for a four-year term; Tracy Jemison, Peter Matera and Cindy Marx to the Division of Community Development Loan Approval Board for a five-year term and Jeff Snyder to that board as an alternate member.

Dever then communicated to council that several boards and commissions had appointments that council nominees would fill. He stated that interested Lakewood citizens should apply by sending in a resume to Clerk of Council Mary Hagan. The following is a list of those boards and commissions that have council nominee appointments and a brief description of those bodies.

The Board of Building Standards reviews applications for variances to the Building Code.
The Architectural Board of Review considers architectural proposal for commercial and residential properties. The Sign Review Board reviews all sign proposals, including those that require a variance. The time commitment includes two Monday night meetings per month.

The Board of Zoning Appeals reviews applications for variances to the zoning code. That board meets once a month on Tuesday evenings.

The Planning Commission reviews requests for lot consolidations, lot splits, major and minor subdivisions, determination of similar and conditional use. This body meets once a month for formal meetings. It might be noted that most major developments in the city have plans reviewed by this commission. Some of the preliminary work of this commission that will see construction soon are improvements to Clifton Boulevard and a rebuilding of the Hogsback entrance to the Metroparks.

Lakewood leases its hospital to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The hospital is governed by the Lakewood Hospital Governing Board. Both the Mayor and Council have appointments to that board. Council is seeking applicants for one of the terms.

Finally, Acting Director of Public Works Dennis Albrecht announced the anonymous donation of $5,000 to fund the payment of an organist for live music at the Thursday night adult only skate at Winterhurst Ice Rink. As council.passed a resolution accepting the donation member Nickie Antonio (at large) expressed the community’s gratitude to the donor.




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