Seifert appointed assistant fire chief; Recreation director post to remain unfilled

by Sue Serdinak

March 3 village council meeting

The first order of business for Richfield Village Council was to approve the appointment of George (Chip) Seifert as assistant fire chief.  Mayor Michael Wheeler swore him in and Fire Chief Phil McLean read Seiferts background.

He said Seifert is a 1984 graduate of Revere High School. He started as a volunteer fireman for Bath Township right after high school and in 2002 was made a full-time fire officer. In 2006 he was named a lieutenant with the Bath department.

He also worked part-time for the Richfield department over the years. He served as a member of the Revere Board of Education for 10 years and more recently he was a code enforcement inspector for the state of Ohio.

After the swearing in, McLean escorted several fire officers from Richfield and neighboring communities, Revere Superintendent Matt Montgomery and school board members to the fire station for a party.

Seifert’s starting date is March 16.

Recreation Director spot remains open

Responding to a question from council, Wheeler said that he is not appointing a recreation director to fill the spot vacated with the retirement of Ruth Jocek.

“We aren’t looking right now. We’re analyzing fees, programs. We’re doing well right now without a director,” he said.

After the meeting, when asked if he will fill the position in the future the mayor told the Richfield Times,  “I have a lot of analyzing to do on a lot of fronts with regard to the parks and recreation department.  So I would say not this year but that may change.”

Wheeler said that Bath Township Administrator Vito Sinopoli is organizing the 2020 Project Pride Bath-Richfield community clean up for April 25.

Paper shredding and electronic disposal will take place at Richfield Town Hall and residents are invited to pick up free trees on that day as part of Arbor Day. 

Accessory building zoning

Todd Hunt, a land-use specialist for the Walter Haverfield law firm, presented council with possible wording for the zoning code regarding accessory buildings. Hunt said he was given the task to expand and liberalize the code for accessory buildings.

His revised wording would permit a property owner to put an accessory building on a lot that is contiguous with the lot where the main-use building is located.

Hunt explained that he was given “the very narrow task to expand the accessory use explanation, to write language that would accomplish that.  I don’t opine on policy and don’t say whether it is a good or bad policy… I leave it up to council as to whether this is something they wish to do.”

The proposed zoning change was initiated when a business owner applied to construct a storage building on a commercial lot adjacent to the lot where the business is located. The current zoning code states that accessory buildings must be on the same parcel as the main-use building.

Under current code, the owner would be required to get a variance to put an accessory building on an adjacent parcel. The owner has instead, requested a change to the zoning code to allow this positioning of an accessory building.

Council President Mike Lyons said that although he wouldn’t be bothered by this particular accessory building being constructed on an adjacent property, “There is an unknown consequence of allowing this [code change]that concerns me.”

Lyons added that the situation that prompted this change doesn’t seem unreasonable, but “I’m concerned that someone in the future might use this definition for something that isn’t reasonable.”

Seeming to favor the zoning change, director Brian Frantz said the zoning code deals with conflicts and stricter standards.  [Future property owners] “would have to meet the most restrictive standards of both properties,” he said.

”I think we have it [potential conflicts] covered in the code. We may never see this again,” said Councilperson Charles Boester.

Lyons responded that they could run into a situation where someone owns a group of parcels. We now require that they re-subdivide. This could open the door for less stringent kind of development of multiple parcels, he added.

Councilperson Gary Domanick suggested that if the adjacent lot were sold, the accessory building could continue to stand, regardless of what existed on the primary lot.

Waszak supported the idea of having the verbage changed to make this a conditionally permitted use. Changing the zoning code would create a precedent.

Lyons suggested that Hunt rework the verbage to make it a conditional use.

Frantz said, “It is possible. We would have to create a whole new definition.  We would have to come up with the conditions

[that would be permitted]

. If [a property owner] comes up with those conditions, we would have to grant the use. I feel that we already have safeguards in place.”

Hunt agreed to try to write the revised wording for the next council meeting.

Cemetery rules

Council removed from the agenda an ordinance reflecting revised rules for Richfield cemeteries. Council President Mike Lyons said he had been informed that the cemetery board is reworking all of the rules and will present new legislation when they are done.

Mayor’s update on roads and businesses

Wheeler reported that he has instructed Frantz to request that ODOT repave state Route 303 this year rather than in 2023 because the pavement will be dug up for the water line.

He also met with CT Consultants to inquire about getting federal money to widen 303 and Broadview Road.

Wheeler said that he met with Columbus Equipment on Brecksville Road about their planned expansion.

Columbia Road extension

Council suspended readings and adopted an ordinance to refer to the planning commission a proposal to extend Columbia Road, east of Brecksville Road, to the Richfield Township boundary.  The legislation would also extend sewer and water utilities to serve the approximate 100 acres of vacant land in the JEDD.

Councilperson Ralph Waszak said he has serious concerns about the traffic on Columbia Road. “I hope the planning commission and the administration address this. We frequently have gridlock at Columbia and Brecksville Road, “ he said.

Frantz added that the legislation was triggered when a landowner presented a proposal to subdivide 100 acres in the JEDD.

The commission has 60 days to respond to the referral.

Brush Road House

Frantz reported that the law director Alex Cortes received a judgment for the village against a property owner on Brush Road. The judgment requires the property owner to remove all of the animals that had been housed in multiple buildings on the property by April 20.

Commendation

In an earlier report Police Chief Mike Swanson commended two dispatcher, Jennifer Boedicker and Kristen Cer for their handling of an accident on I-271 involving a box truck containing ruptured propane tanks. The call involved road closures, five fire departments, Summit County Haz Mat, ODOT, various police agencies and tow companies.

Valuation increaseFinance Director Sandy Turk reported that the assessed valuation of the village for 2020 went up 8 percent over 2019. The total valuation is $228 million. This increase will result in an increase of inside millage of $36,000 this year.

Feature image photo caption: With several fire officers in attendance, George (Chip) Seifert was announced as the next Richfield Assistant Fire Chief. Photo by S. Serdinak