Glass City Jungle

The FTP server is back up, it’s new and improved – so before Council meets on Tuesday, July 20 some of the items discussed at Agenda Review:

Amend TMC to repeal Sec. 505.14 (vicious dogs) and enact new Ch. 1706 to address local dog issues

The administration made no recommendation on the changes to the TMC section on vicious dogs beyond recommending it goes to committee.

Collins said it was an excellent piece of legislation that was drafted, he felt it should go into Law – August 5 1:30 p.m. is the planned committee meeting. Prior to the meeting he wanted responses to: Does the City of Toledo have the authtority to provide a direct policy to the dog warden who is under the authority of the lucas county commissioners. (Home rule question)

Loukx said the responsibilies are set forth in the ORC and they are looking at if they can do that. He said there are a few issues that the law department is looking at.

Collins also asked about the health department since it is also free standing.

Steel wanted to know if they could get representation from the dog warden’s committee at the August 5 hearing. Herwat said he would make them aware of the date.

Ludeman said the advisory committee meets tomorrow (July 14) he said he would make them aware of the time and date as well as provide them with copies of the proposed legislation.

Accept CIP & 2% Utility Fds reimbursement from Penn National for casino at 1968 Miami, $1,038,613

Collins has concerns about the access to the waterway and any future walkway but given the reality but prolonging this would just be pushing this back and they are looking at groundbreaking.

McNamara said since this is new CIP money coming in what are the plans, Herwat said they would use the 634,000 would be transfered to the general fund as allowed when Issue 5 passed. Crothers said there was a plethora of projects that could be funded by the 2% funding.

It described it as almost a revolving loan fund, now they will restore 100% of our CIP money and our 2% money so we can use it to develop other economic development opportunties.

McNamara planed to amend – he wanted to set aside some of the 2% funds for housing. In the past there were housing projects used for 2% funding as part of the economic clause. Herwat said he’d like to sit down with Badik, Crothers, and the Mayor.

Waniewski wanted a comparative analysis in what we are currently receiving through federal or other sources year by year. He wants what the city is allocating per year currently. He thinks they would all agree economic dollars were tight as well.

McNamara said good questions but housing is economic development.

Accept 2008 HUD EDI grants for 2 credit unions & homes renovation in Roof/Envelope Prog,$245,000

Credit Union dollars – $100,000 for two and $45,000 for roof program

Brown wanted to know how quickly the credit unions would get the money, within days of the mayor signing it and HUD agrees to the, the administration anticipates the money would allocated within weeks, no more than a month. Herwat said as soon as their signature ink is dry everything will be done as quickly as possible.

Agreement with AT&T for bundled service package for phone lines, 5 years

Permission was needed to waive competitive bidding on this, information from the background and summary; the city is reducing the amount of telephones that will be maintained on Centrex due to the conversion to VOIP. The Centrex contract, with AT&T, which expired May 14, 2010, had a line commitment of 1800 phone lines. Implementation of a City of Toledo owned VOIP phone system allows for the new line commitment to be reduced to 400 phone lines. As part of the VOIP phone system expansion, however, the COT needs to maintain the ability to dial outside of the system (dialing 9). In order to dial “9”, it will require the purchase of some additional ISDN Prime lines (PRI lines).

There are only two local vendors, AT&T and Buckeye Telesystem, for PRI lines. Informal proposals were obtained from both of these local vendors for PRI lines. The proposal from Buckeye only provided a quantity discount for PRI lines. The proposal received from AT&T included pricing for additional PRI lines with a flat rate usage each per month of $425.00, renewal of three existing PRI lines at the same flat rate which is a significant reduction of the current rates at an annual savings of $19,860, a Centrex line commitment to 400 lines at an additional cost reduction of $2.98 per line, reduction of our Master Discount agreement at an estimated annual saving of $8,298.00, a one time signing bonus of $13,200 for a 60 month bundle package and an undetermined cost saving for the Centrex lines because the saving will be determined by the number of phones that will remain on Centrex.

Even though the recent Centrex agreement with the City of Toledo expired on May 14, 2010, AT&T has been able to maintain those discounted ICB rates for the City of Toledo Centrex phone system. However, on August 1, 2010 the Centrex will revert to non-contracted month-to-month rate of $70.86 per station, if a new agreement has not been reached prior to that date.

McNamara asked about the FTP server (which is thankfully back up) Robertson explained it was a software issue and they were working on it at that time.

Replace 6″ water service for Blarney Bull Pen at 35 N. Huron, rear of 601 Monroe, $63,650 2% Water
Crothers said Downtown Toledo is becoming a mecca for entertainment – from the background and summary:

Ed Beczynski is the owner of The Blarney Bull Pen located at 601 Monroe St. (rear) AKA 35 N. Huron St. Entrepreneur Beczynski has long been a leading private sector innovator in the redevelopment of downtown Toledo. He has established, owns, and operates some of the city’s most popular food and beverage establishments. He has invested $1.24 million of his own money in Eddie B’s Restaurant (2000), Focaccia’s Deli (2006), The Blarney Irish Pub (2006) and MoJo’s Café (2008 ). Annual payroll from all his operations is $572,000 on $2.1 million in annual revenue.

Mr. Beczynski is in the process of renovating and opening The Blarney Bullpen. The “Bullpen” is a new, special event facility located in downtown Toledo’s historic warehouse/entertainment district. The facility is attached to The Blarney Irish Pub at the rear of 601 Monroe St. with frontage on N. Huron St. This unique venue will host catered events such as sports banquets, holiday parties, class reunions, fundraisers and corporate retreats. Bookings have already begun to be scheduled for late summer 2010.

The Blarney Bullpen will employ an additional 2 full time and 6 part time employees with an estimated annual payroll of $102,440.

The building housing The Blarney Bullpen is a three-story, 7,500 sq. ft. structure vacant for the last five years. Mr. Beczynski purchased the building in January, 2010. He has already submitted plans for a change of use to enable him to initiate his special events operations on the first floor. Improvements for this first phase of construction are estimated at $320,000. His long-range plans are to develop the second and third floors into office space. He has a potential commercial tenant interested in the space who would employ 5 full-time employees with an estimated payroll of $235,000.

To bring the building into compliance with current building and fire codes, a full fire suppression system is needed which is estimated to cost $17,000. Mr. Beczynski is prepared to bear this cost. However, the water service outside the building is inadequate to provide the water pressure necessary to support such a system. A 6” water service is needed to support present development and future needs.

To make possible the phased re-development of this building, Mr. Beczynski is asking the city of Toledo to provide public utility improvements by means of the Water Distribution Infrastructure Development Fund.

Craig asked if it would benefit any other Downtown businesses, it was stated no, that it is the direct service line for this property. Herwat said this is an example of the division of building inspection being proactive and being business friendly since they were involved in this from the beginning as an issue and came to the administration asking if 2% funds could be used to assist the property owner. There is 1.1 million dollars in the 2% water funds.

Waniewski asked about Monroe Street, the owner of the property where the pawnshop is located is in the process of repairing a water line to a fire suppression system, the line failed, it’s failed in the past. It was asked if the owner of that property could be eligible for the same money being sought for the Blarney, it was stated no, because that is a repair project and there is no additional economic development aspect to it. The city had asked that the line be replaced in front of the pawn shop instead of just repairing it as happened in the past.

Ashford said when he read between the lines, the pawnshop has the same problem as the restaurant, he felt in today’s economic times he thinks the pawnshop is job retention and should qualify as economic development and he wants to know if the owner of the pawnshop was contacted to see if he needed any aid or help so instead of SUP Ashford put this as first reading. Herwat said they would have to get a ruling from the law department to see if a repair item can be considered a new tap/economic development.

Resolution -Calling for Immigration Reform,Opposing Human Trafficking & Unscrupulous Employment If the Mayor breaks the tie and votes yes it would go before Council, if there is no vote to break the tie or a no vote it would stay in committee.

Appointments – Downtown Toledo Parking Authority
Appointment – Toledo – Lucas County Port Authority

Webb said normally resumes and other information is shared with Council, in this situation she did not see all of the information on the appointees in the packet. Herwat said they would get that to her.

McNamara said while they are on the topic of the Parking Authority, the Toledo Housing Fund has still not received payment for 2008. Herwat said they are in the process of meeting with them to resolve that issue, that he was working with Councilman Martinez on that issue. Ashford wanted information from the Toledo Housing Fund as far as outcomes.

Require Council Aides to complete Request for Reclassification/Re-evaluation form (Desk Audit)

Copeland wanted this to go into the Human Resources committee – McNamara agreed but asked if it could be held for two weeks since he was working on the language.

Second reading items:

Renew property insurance policy with FM Global through Hylant, 1 yr + 3, $470,600 Risk Mgmt. Fund

Collins had thought about writing an amendment on this, he then said he does not think it’s appropriate for a council member to amend a contract. He said this could create some unintended consequences, he said they could be lobbied by every Tom, Dick and Harry that comes before Council. He said they should either vote to go with FM Global or not and let the administration be the one to determine who the next vendor would be. Collins thanked the administration for the additional information they provided that shed more transparency on this. At the last agenda review there was not clear information on why the City would be better served by going with FM Global with it costing more, his question is still what is the value added.

Bill Wolff from the Hylant Group, explained the differences in the amount Hylant would earn from this proposal, they would have actually earned more from the other company, Chartus, as a commission. Collins then asked for justification for the increased amount of over 113,600 dollars in the bids. Wolff said this type of insurance is not a commodity, they are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars of coverage, each one has different terms and conditions, FM Global is known for not charging for their engineering services and they are rated top in the industry when it comes to stop loss and claim services. They want to know that someone is going to perform for us and take the best approach when we have a claim, he’s not implying that Chartus would not do that, but they have a track record with FM Global, they have been the carrier for over 25 years. They have dropped their rates the past six years.

A previous several million dollar settlement that FM Global paid that involved a water/sewer line collapse was briefly discussed as an example of the type of service they got from them, the claim was paid even though it was several years later when it was filed and the city has never had to enter into litigation to have them pay a claim. Collins said it was a difficult choice, with the economic decisions the city is facing, do they focus on the money aspect alone, the lower bidder in this case could save the city almost $90,000 a year more (taking into account the rebate of about $55,000 every two years as a credit from FM Global). McNamara said as someone who sues insurance companies for a living, different ones have a different attitude but he thinks that the fact that FM paid a claim that could have been litigated in their favor should be a consideration towards them, you can have the cheapest insurance policy in the world, if you have to go to court to get the payment that’s not a benefit.

Sarantou asked about what admitted meant, it’s not really a factor in this situation since the maximum coverage is $300,000 through the State of Ohio. Sarantou wanted to know what other cities used Chartus and he asked about the membership credits that were covered under the last Agenda Review. It’s basically a profit sharing plan where if the company makes a profit, they award members credits determined on premiums and longevity. Sarantou asked about the engineering services that was also covered at the last agenda review, as explained the last time they do inspections, make recommendations in order to prevent losses and they offer classes on risk management. Sarantou wanted examples of this, Wolff said you can’t provide an example on a loss you prevented. Herwat said he’s worked with the FM Global review and engineering services in the past they bring engineering expertise to the table that the city does not have.

Resolution – Cherry Street Legacy Plan as amendment to Toledo 20/20 Comprehensive Plan

Requesting the Toledo City Plan Commission review, analyze and make recommendations regarding the Cherry Street Legacy Plan as an amendment to the 20/20 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Toledo; and declaring an emergency.

SUMMARY & BACKGROUND:
Mercy St Vincent Medical Center has long been considered an anchor in downtown Toledo and has been and continues to be committed to strong community partnerships, which strengthen the neighborhood. Mercy St Vincent medical center sponsored a study, by LISC, to benefit the neighborhood. They have instituted a crime reduction committee as well as a neighborhood stabilization plan, and worked with local schools, churches, block watch organizations, and residents to improve the area around the Mercy Campus. The request is to take the study by LISC and incorporate it into the 20/20 Comprehensive plan.