Here is the agenda for today’s (10/19/20) City Council Meeting. Due to the directives surrounding COVID-19, the Council will be meeting via Zoom this evening but you will be able to watch the video of both the work session and the regular session at the City’s YouTube page.
The videos are now broadcast live at this URL so if you tune in at 6:00pm for the work session, and 8pm regular session, you can watch the Council meeting live: https://www.youtube.com/CityofBedfordOH
The public will be able to submit any questions, comments or concerns to citymanager@bedfordoh.gov which will be monitored throughout the meeting. Please feel free to send you questions ahead of time.
Mayor Koci, City Council and the Administration will answer / reply during the public comments portion of the meeting. Once again, thank you for your cooperation, understanding and partnership during these unprecedented times.
Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the City of Bedford YouTube channel (big red subscribe button below the video). If you subscribe, you will get a notification when the live video starts as well as getting a link to watch it later.
In the Work Session, we will be discussing:
- The Regular Session agenda
- Fences – We will be discussing the height requirement and should it be changed. The discussion is in relation to being able to protect plants from deer, which can jump a 6’ tall fence from standing. Bedford’s laws limit fences to 6’ tall.
- Historic Preservation Board – A review of the ordinance that governs this board found the ordinance to be lacking in how the board should operate and could possibly be putting the City at risk for a lawsuit. The Council will be reviewing that board to determine how it will function going forward.
- Bedford Downtown Alliance – The BDA has requested funding from the City to help move some projects forward. This is a discussion of how much the City would like to extend support as there are laws that limit how and when the City can support non-profits.
- Holiday Lighting Ceremony – So, maybe, just maybe there is a special event that the Council will be looking at to to do during the ceremony.
- Whether budget hearings should be virtual or in-person
In the Regular Session, we will be voting on:
- Amending §911.03 “Rate Reduction for Disabled Persons and Senior Citizens”
- amending Ordinance No. 9546-17 concerning Section 913.02 “Sewer Rates.” – This and the next 2 items are just annual clean up. The income numbers on the ordinances need to be updated to reflect new income levels. There will also be the annual rate increase to cover inflation and expected expenses.
- Amending Ordinance No. 9637-18 concerning Section 913.03 “Rate Reduction for Senior Citizens and Permanently Disabled.”
- Replacing Ord. No: 7780-05 Relating to Water Rates
- Amending Section 351.18 “Truck Parking In Residential Areas” – This change is in response to the discussion in a previous Work session regarding RVs being parked on the street and causing problems. Most vehicles that size are banned from street parking and this just updates the law to cover more modern vehicles
- Appropriating City’s Corona Virus Relief Fund Program for third payment – This is to approve accepting State money for COVID related expenses.
- Additional appropriations – This is making small adjustments to the budget to account for unexpected windfalls and expenses. Just FYI, expect to see this item appear more frequently as we approach the end of the year and money needs to be moved around to cover various things.
- Agreement with the County Board of Health – This is an annual agreement where the City contracts with the Board of Health to handle health issues and testing within the City.
- Sell a 1996 Pierce Quantum Fire Truck. A few months ago the City got a new ambulance. This is the approval to sell the old ambulance.
