At its regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 5, the Bedford City Council approved an ordinance requiring more accountability from the owners of short-term rentals, bed and breakfast inns and Airbnbs in the city.
City Manager Mike Mallis said that even though Bedford does not currently have a lot of short-term rentals, this issue has been on the city’s radar recently. Bedford has been looking for ways to help its safety forces deal with any issues that may come up from unruly temporary tenants, so it has reviewed some of the legislation adopted by nearby municipalities.
There was an incident that occurred earlier in April of this year that helped bring the need for more oversight to the forefront. The behavior of renters at an Airbnb on Woodrow Avenue, and the subsequent calls to police, were discussed in the “Hearing of Citizens” portion of the April 17 city council meeting.)
Mallis said the new ordinance will not be as extensive as some of the other cities around, but he said Bedford’s Law Director John Montello was able to put together some requirements that allows the city to track these businesses and to have direct emergency contact with the business owners should any safety issues arise.
At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Stan Koci and the council welcomed a new officer to the Bedford Police force. Officer Taylor Temple transferred over from the Ashland County Sheriff after more than 6 years of service there. Koci administered the oath with Taylor in the presence of a number of members of the police force present.
“I’m excited to come to Bedford,” Temple said. “(and) I’m excited for this new journey. I’ve done a lot of things in my career so far, and I am excited to do a lot more.” Temple said he is particularly looking forward to interacting with the citizens.
At the meeting, council also agreed to condemn the property at 34 Nordham Drive. Mallis said that multiple notices have been sent to those who own the property over the last few years, but there has been no response. He said the animal warden has been out to the vacant residence multiple times, and that raccoons entered the home last year. Mallis said the ordinance condemning the home is an additional way to try to get a some sort of a response from those involved. If the property ultimately needs to be demolished, Mallis said the council would have to vote again.
Council approved discounts for water and sewer rates for those persons who are disabled or senior citizens. You can find a link here for an application for the water discount program. Finance Direct Jennifer Howland also noted that there are no plans this year to raise the water or sewer rates for the residents of Bedford.
On the topic of water, Mallis said work should begin soon on the water line project on Lincoln Avenue. He said the contractors had a 90-day deadline to get it completed once it is started. The work on that line is another in a list of water projects completed by the city this year. Others included water work on Harriman Avenue, Ennis Avenue and Washington Court.
Mallis said Bedford buys its water from Cleveland and then resells it, and tries to collect the water used back again to save money on costs. Mallis said, “Out water collection numbers remains extremely strong as far as managing a public utility.” He said there is going to be expected loss of water, especially with a system that is more than 100 years old. He said, when collecting water, you always want to get at least 70 percent back. Bedford surpasses that number by a large margin.
“We are in a range of 92 to 94 percent which is unbelievable,” he said, giving credit to the people at the water department who keep track of the condition of the lines.
“We sound the system multiple times a year,” Mallis said. “We identify those breaks and obviously repair them.”
He said that, just to put it into perspective, in the beginning of 2015, the percentage of water collected was about 60 percent.
In other business, the council:
- Approved a resolution accepting a donation of $15,000 that will be put toward a public art project in the city. The project will allow artists to decorate utility panels around town.
- Agreed on a contract with Painters of the Western Reserve to prepare and paint the exterior of the train depot at Bedford Commons.
- Approved the purchase of audio equipment upgrades at Bedford Commons that will be able to be used for special events throughout the city. The cost of the equipment is covered 100% by Community Development Block Grants.
