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Cortland council meeting: residents press for flood fixes, debate hiring and plan a scaled-back service complex
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Summary
Residents pressed the Cortland City Council on chronic flooding and a recently acquired historic school property; councilors and staff clashed over the open service-director hire and past candidate reviews; the city said a new $4.5 million state grant narrows but does not end plans for a consolidated fire/service complex.
Speaker 3 (Sydney August, resident) told the Cortland City Council that repeated flooding on Old Oaks Drive has caused panic attacks at her home and that she has "videos on my phone that will make you cry." Council staff said smoke testing has been completed, dye testing is planned and the city has asked engineering firms (GPD referenced) for pricing on a new study. Staff added that several manholes were resealed to stop creekwater infiltration but that addressing the volume of runoff requires a flood-mitigation plan and likely cooperation with Trumbull County.
The council also spent substantial time on personnel and process questions. Speaker 1 (role not specified in the transcript) said the city recently interviewed a candidate and was "working on a potential offer" for the vacant service-director post and that two offers had been made in recent months. Other council-affiliated speakers criticized how the position and an economic-development post were advertised and handled: multiple speakers said posting and resume review were delayed, questioned who screened applicants and said the lack of a clear public-posting policy had eroded trust. One speaker repeatedly criticized the candidacy of Sean Radakin (named in the transcript) and said prior hiring steps contributed to the current vacancy; another speaker defended that qualified candidates existed in the pool.
On capital projects, staff said the city secured a new $4.5 million state grant that, combined with an earlier $2.15 million state award and a previously budgeted $3.1 million loan plan, makes a consolidated service complex feasible in a reduced form. Staff said loan repayments would come from the capital-improvement levy rather than the general fund and that the 2020 levy was intended to cover such debt service. Officials characterized the earlier $13 million design as a "Taj Mahal" and said the project would be "value engineered" and scaled down to a fiscally responsible plan while retaining a shared footprint for fire, police and administration that apportions costs by square footage used.
Councilors and residents also pressed staff about a recently purchased school building. Speaker 5 (role not specified) said Trumbull County Land Bank performed environmental work and that the city has up to $1,000,000 available for demolition from demolition/Brownfield funds. Several residents asked to see the full property and environmental inspection reports before demolition; staff said the city would not directly contract demolition crews but would work through the land bank and that mold remediation in renovated sections could make reuse cost-prohibitive.
Multiple speakers urged the city to restore community events planning to a broader volunteer and committee structure. The Marketing/Business/Growth (MBG) committee's work came from the city's strategic plan; speakers and staff said the committee will be reconstituted in January and that future events would require more community volunteers and clearer roles. Staff committed to public work sessions on the service complex and to additional openness as the project is revised to fit grant restrictions.
The meeting did not record a formal motion or final vote on the service complex, the school property demolition or personnel actions; staff pledged follow-up work sessions and additional public disclosure on studies, budgets and site plans.
