City Council News From July 5, 2011

Brecksville City Council discussed and voted on updates on a number of projects during . Here are a few of the highlights:

• Council took the next step to install lights on the athletic fields at Blossom. Members approved a purchase requisition of $4,500 to R. J. Priest Associates, Inc. that will go toward the design of the lighting. An electrical engineer will design the project, and then it will go out to contractors for bids, Mayor Jerry N. Hruby said after the meeting.
• During the committee meeting, council members heard an update on the traffic study at the Brecksville and Wallings roads intersection, near the . City Engineer Gerald Wise said the study only included traffic analysis, not the geography of the area. Hruby noted during the committee meeting that this issue wasn’t an urgent one, because it’s not a dangerous area. The city just wants to make that intersection better. Some of the recommendations from the study that the board will consider in the future include adding new signs near the intersection and installing cameras at the lights to better detect traffic. 
• Council approved $15,000 for this year’s Yuletide program. According to its mission statement, the program provides food and other items to families in need in Brecksville, Broadview Heights, Independence and Seven Hills during the winter holiday season. Becki Burlingham, the city’s purchasing director, said during the committee meetings that the program usually spends less than it is allocated.
• The council members received a brief update on the city’s energy audit, which looked at whether the city’s buildings were energy efficient. Director of Public Services Ron Weidig said the extensive report gives room-by-room recommendations and estimated costs in all the city’s buildings. There will be a public meeting on July 14 to discuss the findings. 
• Council member Mike Harwood said the Planning Commission meeting scheduled for July 7 has been cancelled.