Council 03.03.2008

[Stan Austin]

Tony Beno Recognized (and the Art Of Resolutions)

Council president Michael Dever called the March 3, 2008 meeting to order at 7:40 PM.

Several years ago Dennis Albrecht assumed the position of City Engineer for Lakewood. One of his first major tasks was to implement an objective, engineering based evaluation of all the city’s streets. This evaluation was then used to rank the streets so repairs and rebuilding could be prioritized. It also made street repaving less subject to politics and more responsive to actual needs. Albrecht was able to bring his background at the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to bear on this project. Albrecht will be returning to ODOT to assume a major supervisory position.

But, before leaving Albrecht completed another major project for the city, which will have impact far into the future: using model ordinances, state and federal regulations, and soil erosion data to write an ordinance that was reviewed by the committee of the whole

Dever, who chairs that committee reported on storm water management. In Northeast Ohio over 100 communities are impacted by the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Phase II Storm Water Regulations. State and federal regulations derived from the Clean Water Act require Lakewood to develop a Storm Water Management Program.

According to the committee’s report the intent of the ordinance is to establish technically feasible and economically reasonable standards to achieve a level of storm water management and erosion and sediment control that will minimize damage to public and private property and degradation of water resources. It will require owners who wish to develop or redevelop their property to minimize sediment runoff, which is created through construction excavation, from entering the City’s sewers and eventually Lake Erie or the Rocky River. In addition this ordinance will require property owners to leave in place controls that favorably impact the quality and quantity of storm water runoff after construction.

To achieve the above goals the committee has sent to council an ordinance which outlines permit and fee structures to meet those mandates and clean water goals.

Did you ever actually read a resolution or proclamation? You know, those fancy documents with all the “whereasesâ€