MINUTES OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING

January 9, 2020

CALL TO ORDER
The meeting of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission (County Planning) was called to order by Vice-Chair Councilperson Sunny Simon at 2:00 p.m. and the roll call showed a quorum was present.

MINUTES
On a motion by Mayor Bobst, seconded by Mayor Brennan, the minutes of the December 12, 2019 Planning Commission Meeting were duly adopted by unanimous vote.

ORGANIZATIONAL ITEMS

• Election of Officers.
  The floor was opened for nomination of Planning Commission Chair. Mayor Procuk nominated Mr. Michael Dever, with a second by Councilperson Simon. With no other nominations from the floor, the nominations were closed. The vote was unanimous to elect Mr. Dever as Chair.Mr. Dever accepted the nomination stating that he was enthusiastic to work with County Planning and the new Executive Director because of the clear linkage between Public Works and County Planning to share resources.The floor was opened for nomination of Planning Commission Vice-Chair. Mr. Dever nominated Councilperson Simon, with a second by Councilperson Brown. With no other nominations from the floor, the nominations were closed. The vote was unanimous to elect Councilperson Simon as Vice-Chair.Councilperson Simon accepted the nomination stating that it has been a fantastic experience working with the Planning Commission and has learned a great deal.
  Mr. Dever began chairing the meeting.

• Committee(s) Establishment (if necessary).
  Mr. Shawn Leininger stated a review of County Planning’s Bylaws had become necessary when it was discovered that after a vacancy in the chair position, a new chair could not be decided until the organizational meeting at the beginning of a new year. The Law Department had also identified several housekeeping items to correct. Ms. Stefanie Deka from the Law Department spoke of incorrect references to the Ohio Revised Code and to the former County Commissioners. Mr. Leininger presented several options for the Planning Commission to review and prepare the necessary Bylaw amendments, including the formation of a Committee.  After Planning Commission discussion it was decided that a draft document with amendments to the Bylaws be prepared by County Planning, Law Department and the Chair to present to the Board for review at a later meeting.
  Ms. Marka Fields arrived 2:06 p.m.

• 2020 Meeting Calendar.
  Adoption of the 2020 meeting calendar. On a motion by Mr. Dever, seconded by Councilperson Simon, for the adoption of the 2020 meeting calendar, was passed by unanimous vote.
  Mayor Sellers arrived 2:14 p.m.

CHAIR’S REPORT

No Chair’s report.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Mr. Leininger reported on the Clean Ohio Greenspace Conservation Program for Program Year (PY) 2020. The Natural Resources Assistance Council (NRAC) finalized and recommended three projects for full funding and a fourth project being partially funded to maximize the $3.5M available for PY2020

He added that, the District One Public Works Integrating Committee (DOPWIC) received 52 project applications, with approximately $30 million available for PY2020. The DOPWIC meeting will be held on January 16, 2020 to hear appeals and potentially vote on final recommendations. The Small Government Subcommittee meeting will be held immediately after the DOPWIC meeting. The top five recommended Small Government Projects will be recommended for The Ohio Public Works Small Government Commission. All recommended projects then go to The Ohio Public Works Commission for review.

Mr. Leininger stated a letter from Council President Dan Brady is to be entered into the record assigning council staff members Kahlil Seren and Brendan Doyle to serve as alternates on behalf of Council members Simon and Brown.

He continued adding that an amended MOU for the City of Brooklyn for a time extension to prepare a master plan had been received and executed. Mayor Gallagher was in attendance.

Mr. Jim Sonnhalter, Manager of Planning Services, introduced new interns Bryson Odum and Blake Woodruff for the spring semester from the University of Cincinnati.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Ms. Jennifer Karaffa, Fiscal Officer, gave a financial report on both 2019 activity and the 2020-2021 biennial budget. She stated that moving forward County Planning will be recognized as a true general fund agency and will discontinue with a fixed operational subsidy. There was a general discussion regarding the budget, planning grant cost sharing, and revenues. It was noted that revenues have fallen in large part due to funding for the planning grant program becoming a direct appropriation to the budget rather than a transfer of $150,000 from the Department of Development, which had appeared as revenue in past budgets.  Additionally, with County Planning becoming general fund agency, similar transfers from other County general fund Departments, such as the Department of Sustainability, will no longer occur impacting future potential revenues. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation was sent to all Board members.

PRESENTATION – CUYAHOGA COUNTY URBAN TREE CANOPY ASSESSMENT UPDATE

Mr. Daniel Meaney, Manager of Information & Research, gave a presentation on the Updated Cuyahoga County Urban Tree Canopy Assessment. There was discussion of preparing a Guidebook to give communities a resource regarding tree protection and a training manual for the Tree Canopy Viewer.  A copy of the PowerPoint presentation was sent to all Board members.

OLD BUSINESS

No old business.

NEW BUSINESS

No new business.

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC

No comments from the public.

ADJOURNMENT

On a motion by Mr. Dever, seconded by Councilperson Brown, the meeting was adjourned with unanimous vote at 3:04 p.m.

The next meeting is scheduled for February 13, 2020.

CUYAHOGA COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION

MEETING ATTENDANCE January 9, 2020