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Politics & Government

Heights Fees to Rise; Urban Chickens Discussion Continues

The Richmond Heights City Council approved an increase in membership fees at The Heights community center and passed four pieces of legislation at its meeting Monday evening.

Residents of  will pay a little more for their memberships at  community center starting next year.

During a discussion of proposed fee increases at Monday's City Council meeting, District 2 Councilman Jim Thomson proposed reducing the fee that seniors pay for their memberships. Currently, seniors pay $136 for an annual membership. Thomson argued that other expenses for seniors are going up and that the senior membership fee should be capped at $125.

“Our goal is to not raise fees that are that noticeable,” parks and recreation director Teresa Proebsting said during her presentation. She added that while membership costs have risen since The Heights opened 10 years ago, residents did not start commenting on the increase until last year.

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Proebsting suggested implementing a 1 percent increase in membership fees annually through 2016.

District 3 Councilman Edward Notter expressed concern about the proposed 1 percent annual increase. He asked whether an increase is necessary every year. Proebsting said The Heights is looking at an operations deficit of approximately $59,000 because of maintenance needed at the now 10-year-old community center.

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After discussing the matter, the council approved the fee increases. Starting next year, seniors will pay $125 for a membership, youth will pay $137, adults will pay $225 and families will pay $340.

Resident concerned about Dale Avenue easement

Also during the meeting, William Joseph, who lives in the 7700 block of Dale Avenue, expressed concerns about the  that would accommodate a bike trail.

He said he and other residents who live on the street think the city could have spent the money on hiring additional first responders.

“After all of these years, 30 years in my case, why now?” Joseph said. “Why change the curb appeal now?”

Mayor James Beck responded that the city has been looking into making Dale more pedestrian- and bike-friendly for some time and that it saw an opportunity to make changes. Eighty percent of funds for the project comes from a grant, while 20 percent of the project will be funded using city money.

Update provided on Dale Avenue-Hanley Road development

Larry Chapman of Chapman Ventures gave an update on . During his brief presentation on the design aspects of the property, he said a plan calls for a five- or six-story office building containing approximately 150,000 square feet of space.

Chapman said retail brokers have already begun to express interest in the development. Developers are now creating models to see what the building would look like, he said. They want it to complement the design of the Meridian development on the west side of Hanley.

Chicken legislation discussed at work session.

During a work session held before the council's regular meeting, members reviewed proposed . In the one-hour session, members discussed the number of chickens a household should be permitted to have, the definition of a coop and whether roosters would be permitted.

The proposed legislation would allow up to five chickens per household, including roosters under the age of 1. Roosters meeting that specification would be permitted because it can be difficult to determine a young chicken's gender.

They also discussed the cost of chicken permits. The proposed legislation sets the cost at $15, but several council members thought the cost required to inspect yards containing chickens would far exceed that amount.

Further discussion about the proposed legislation is planned for the council's next study session.

Tax bills approved

The council approved four bills and considered another bill for the first time on Monday:

  • Bill 5326 will at $0.29 per $100 of assessed valuation. Thomson proposed an amendment to reduce the tax to $0.27, but the measure failed. The council passed the bill unanimously.
  • Bill 5327 will set this year's tax levy for the Richmond Heights Memorial Library at $0.178 per $100 of assessed valuation. The council approved the measure.
  • Bill 5328 will set this year's levy for the police and firefighters retirement fund at $0.299 per $100 of assessed valuation. The measure passed.
  • Bill 5329 will set the electric utility rate tax at 5 5/8 percent. The measure passed.
  • Bill 5330, which would adjust the , received a first reading.

Closed session held

The council voted to go into closed session after discussion of its agenda items.

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