Special assessments OK’d for Chippewa Road, Calvin Drive residents

by Melissa Martin

July 16 city council meeting

Brecksville City Council unanimously approved two pieces of legislation to levy special assessments and fund construction of sanitary sewer lines along Chippewa Road, from Riverview Road to Wiese Road, and along Calvin Drive extending to Glen Valley Drive. The project also will make way for the removal of the Glen Valley pump station.

In accordance with the resolutions, 74 residents living in the area affected by the project will be assessed $13,500, an amount that will be added to their property tax bills over the next 30 years.

Finance Director Laura Starosta explained in June that the residents who will be assessed received a letter from the city notifying them that they had 30 days to decide whether to pay their individual portion of the assessment in full or add it to their property tax bills for the next 30 years.

A $249,000 bond taken out by the city funds the residents’ portion of the project and will be reimbursed via the assessments.

In other news, council also approved emergency legislation accepting the proposal of Daniels & Rhodes LLC to provide legal services for the city of Brecksville for the Valor Acres project and other development projects in the city.

Law Director David Matty told council the resolution is not to hire a new attorney to represent the city in discussions regarding Valor Acres, but to retain the same attorney who has been representing the city throughout the process. That attorney, Greg Daniels, has relocated to Columbus and started another legal practice there.

Matty said the $475 per hour rate the city is currently paying will remain the same throughout the remainder of 2024.

Council President Dominic Carouso told council he believes continuity in representation is key in moving forward with subsequent phases of the Valor Acres project. ∞