29-01-2025
Conneaut approves three union agreements
Jan. 29—CONNEAUT — City council approved three collective bargaining agreements at a Monday meeting.
All three agreements are retroactive to Jan. 1, and end Dec. 31, 2027.
The agreements are between the city and the police, corrections and civil employees unions.
The city's police and corrections officers were represented by the Fraternal Order of Police, and civil employees were represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Conneaut City Manager Nick Sanford said he was thankful everyone involved in the negotiations.
"This was very well-done, I think," he said.
The city will be updating its zoning map at the request of the Planning and Zoning Department, Sanford said.
"This is a very worthwhile investment for I think about $400," he said.
Sanford was in charge of the last zoning map update in 2014, he said.
The Ohio Department of Transportation is still bidding a road improvement project for Broad Street, Sanford said.
"The anticipated start of construction still remains in alignment with traditional construction summer work around Memorial Day," he said. "The time would be fairly soon for us to start having conversations with the stakeholders, who would be most impacted."
The Soapbox Derby and D-Day Conneaut will be two events impacted by construction, he said.
Sanford said the city's Public Works Department has been attending to potholes made from weather over the last few months.
The city is still waiting to hear if a loan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has been approved, Sanford said.
"It's been oddly cumbersome with the [Ohio] EPA," he said.
The city filled its police lieutenant position for the first time since 2010, Sanford said.
"We have promoted Michael Bertolasio to the position of lieutenant," he said.
Jason Rivers was also promoted to police sergeant.
Sanford said AT&T withdrew its proposal to require Ohio municipalities to pay for relocating telecommunication lines.
The city passed an ordinance at a Jan. 13 meeting, which supported a legal challenge to the proposal by the Ohio Municipal League.
The city was among 153 Ohio local governments to support the challenge, he said.
"Kudos, certainly to this council, and to the others, who were part of making that happen," he said.
