Lorain advisory board votes to ask mayor to evaluate SWAB board’s role and effectiveness

The Lorain SWAB utilities advisory board voted unanimously to amend its preliminary report to request that the mayor evaluate the board’s validity, effectiveness, and whether the administration will act on the board’s recommendations going forward.

The board’s amendment followed an extended public-comment period and discussion in which residents and council members praised the board’s work but criticized what they called a lack of administrative follow-through. Several speakers described the board’s recommendations as thoughtful and in the public interest but said the administration and some council actions had not adopted or implemented many prior recommendations.

Mary Spadowski, identified in the meeting as a Lorain council member at-large, said she would “send an email out” and encouraged residents and SWAB members to attend a planned community meeting on utility-office hours; she added she would notify board leadership when dates were set. Resident Gerald Phillips urged administrative representation at meetings: “Either he should be here or the utilities director ... the fact that, if I heard correctly, he seldom attends, I think that’s disrespectful,” Phillips said, referring to the absence of the utility director or service director at some meetings.

Board members spoke in turn about the time volunteers put into the board and whether that work is producing administrative change. Longtime chair Pat McGannan and several members noted that many recommendations have not been taken up, and board members asked the mayor to state whether the board will be given a substantive advisory role or be discontinued.

The formal motion to include the mayor-evaluation language in the board’s report passed unanimously. The board will forward the amended report to the mayor and to council and asked that any follow-up — including scheduling a public committee meeting — be handled so that SWAB recommendations become part of the public record and are discussed in committee as appropriate.

Several long-serving board members also announced they will step down or are leaving after the next council appointments; the board discussed scheduling a June meeting to allow time for council concurrence of replacements and for the board to brief new members.