Canal Fulton City Council approves buying speakers for amphitheater
Canal Fulton City Council
Tuesday meeting
KEY ACTION: In a 3-3 tie broken by Mayor Joe Schultz, approved the purchase of speakers for the St. Helena Heritage Park amphitheater.
DISCUSSION: Council members Sue Mayberry, Jeanann VanDenberg, and Eric Whittington cast the nay votes because they did not expect the purchase order for $15,700 to Unitec ProAudio for the speakers to be on the agenda. Council members receive the meeting agenda by email on the Friday preceding their regularly scheduled Tuesday meetings.
Instead, they were surprised when they saw the agenda, thinking that Schultz had already raised the money through donations as he had told them he planned to do at council’s April 4 meeting when council had previously denied the purchase. But Schultz had not raised the money. Instead Councilman Scott Svab had talked with Schultz and told him that he had changed his mind and was no longer opposed to buying the speakers. With council president Douglas Morgan in agreement, the purchase order was added to the agenda.
When Mayberry, VanDenberg, and Whittington discovered that council members Svab and Morgan both knew about the purchase order ahead of time, claims of “being sneaky” and “discussion was done outside the public purview” were made. Schultz did concede that he understood why some council members were upset, but the purchase was approved nonetheless.
Former councilman Sean Craney said he was upset that council was helping a private business earn money by scheduling the bands at the public amphitheater, but council was not helping local businesses in a similar manner. Craney and his wife own and operate the Dragonfly Tea Room and Winery.
The speakers will improve the sound at the park during concerts and lower the volume of any sound traveling into nearby neighborhoods. They also will be used for other city events including movies in the park, the Easter egg hunt, and Christmas on the Canal. The Parks Director will be responsible for properly storing the speakers.
OTHER ACTION:
Heard that Guist Decorators is continuing to work on the St. Helena III canal boat and workers are confident the repairs and waterproofing will ensure that the boat floats. In related business, heard that Stark Parks and the city will split the cost of cleaning debris from the canal before the boat is launched this year. Total cost of the cleaning is estimated to be between $6,000 and $9,000.
Heard that owners of the Canal Fulton Post Office building are willing to share the cost of repairing potholes at its Poplar Street entrance with the city. The potholes span both post office and city property. A survey will determine how the cost will be split. The post office building is owned by 210 Canal Street LLC in North Canton.
Rezoned the Trinity Church property at 8101 Manchester Ave. NW from residential to suburban office following a public hearing during which there were no objections. A conditional use permit still must be approved by the city’s Planning Commission. The purchase of the 11.64 acre property and building by the Serving Area Military (SAM) Center is pending. The property will become a military veteran resource center and offer a variety of programs, training opportunities, social activities, and healthcare, among other activities. No overnight activities or events will take place.
Agreed to advertise for a lands and building maintenance employee who would assist in mowing and do general maintenance jobs on city property. Pay is set at between $16 and $18 an hour for a 20 to 25 hour week.
Scheduled community-wide garage sales for June 9-11 and Aug. 18-20.
UP NEXT: Will meet at 6 p.m. May 2 at the Safety Center. The meeting will begin with a work session. Work sessions and meetings are recorded and may be viewed on the city’s Facebook page.
Joan Porter
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canal Fulton City Council approves buying speakers for amphitheater
