ELYRIA – A resident and a city councilman accused the Utilities and Safety Committee chairman Saturday of deliberately scheduling a last-minute meeting without notifying the public so that residents couldn’t attend to discuss a proposed road widening project that will result in old trees being cut down.

Councilman Garry Gibbs, R-3rd Ward, sent an e-mail to several residents to let them know about the meeting, which is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Monday, just prior to the 7 p.m. regular Council meeting.

“I sent it so the residents can be informed,” Gibbs said of his e-mail. “I think definitely there’s been issues before Council and committees that we seem to try to hush over and don’t want any discussion in regards to it.”

The committee’s chairman, Councilman Michael Lotko, D-at large, said the meeting will deal with a housekeeping issue and wasn’t intended to be a secret

“There are, I think, four easements that we needed for East River Street,” Lotko said. “The residents signed the easements. The meeting is just a formality. We’re accepting the easements. They’ve all agreed to them.”

At issue is a proposed $1.7 million paving and widening project on East River Street the city will be using federal funds to complete. The road will be widened 2 feet on each side, Lotko said, and new waterlines will be put in, as well.

“I think any time you have any committee meeting 15 minutes before a Council meeting, it’s not giving any issue air time for discussion,” Gibbs said. “I don’t know why Mike Lotko couldn’t hold a regular committee meeting. They know residents want to speak on this, because they’ve spoken on it before.”

Lotko said there really isn’t anything to discuss.

“I got a call the other day from the clerk’s office and they asked if we could do the meeting before Council,” Lotko said. “There’s really no discussion or argument. These people accepted these easements and the offers they were given. We’re just accepting them. There’s no discussion, there’s no debate. We’re accepting the easements. That’s all.”

East River Street resident Joan Unger, one of the recipients of Gibbs’ e-mail, spoke out against the project and removing the trees at a meeting about three weeks ago.

“This sounds like some really dirty pool,” Unger said. “I just want to let people know that this meeting is going on.”

“They don’t want anybody to know about this,” she said. “They’re gonna vote on it, push it through and that’s gonna be that.”

Committee member Donna Mitchell, D-6th Ward, knew nothing about the meeting when contacted Saturday night.

Committee member Kevin Brubaker, D-at large, said he hasn’t picked up his packet of information yet and didn’t know what was on the agenda for Monday’s meeting. He suggested rescheduling the committee meeting if residents are upset.

“If there are residents that are concerned with (no notice), then maybe we need to move that meeting to a date when people can attend,” Brubaker said, adding that accepting the easements doesn’t make the road widening project a done deal.

“There are still several steps that have to be taken before a tree will come down,” Brubaker said. “There’s engineering and planning. It’s not going to happen before the first of the year or even early next spring. Some decisions still have to be made. We’re certainly not going to be cutting trees down Tuesday morning.”

Unger said she’s concerned that the street will look terrible with the loss of the 75- to 100-year-old trees – even if they’re replaced with saplings. She’s also worried about speeding becoming more of an issue on a wider road and questioned whether the project is even necessary.

Brubaker said that if the project moves forward, it won’t be until next year.

“I don’t believe anybody’s trying to be sneaky,” Brubaker said. “It’s just a point of order. If the residents signed off on the easements, it’s now our responsibility as Safety and Utilities to accept those easements. I think there will be more discussion. I think the process will be larger and much longer than was originally anticipated.”

Committee member Mark Craig, I-4th Ward, said he learned about the committee meeting when he picked up his packet Friday afternoon. He said residents can speak at the meeting at the chairman’s discretion.

“They don’t have a right to speak, but if the chairman permits it, they can speak,” Craig said.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.

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