Council meetings are available on Zoom

by Sue Serdinak

Aug. 16 village council meeting

Residents can now attend Richfield Village council meetings from the comfort of their homes or wherever they have an internet connection. After a delay of several months, the microphones and sound system in council chambers have been updated to allow meetings to be broadcast over Zoom.

Zoom meetings were held during the pandemic, so village officials could take part from their homes. Ohio law now requires that officials must be present in the meeting room, but others can monitor meetings remotely.

During the Aug. 16 meeting, there were a series of glitches, but after 15 minutes the meeting started and a couple of people viewing from home said the video and sound were good.

Take the bus

Police Chief Michael Swanson appealed to parents of children who attend Richfield Elementary School to consider using the bus rather than have them travel to and from school by car.  Swanson said traffic jammed Revere and Everett roads last school year, making them unsafe.

“The parking lot is not made for that many pick ups and drop offs. It’s a mess,’’ he said. “We’re asking the parents to use the buses more.”

Swanson also said he and Bath Township officials are working with the county to set up a juvenile diversion program that would give juveniles charged with crimes a choice of going to court or entering the diversion program.

John Piepsny was introduced as the new Richfield Village recreation director and the Richfield Joint Recreation District park director. He is a full-time employee of the village. The park district will pay the village 50% of his salary for him to work as director of Richfield Heritage Preserve. The village will pay for his employee benefits including use and maintenance of a village vehicle. ∞