Johnny K’s officially coming to Midway Mall

Johnny K’s Powersports officially received its home in Elyria’s Midway Mall after winning a 9-1 vote during the last City Council meeting of the year Dec. 19.

Before being congratulated by council on the Powersports’ business expanding to Elyria, questions rose from Fifth Ward Councilman Marcus Madison, debating whether Elyria City Schools was fully evaluated on its tax abatement and further questions.

“I’m still unsure if Elyria City Schools have been properly vetted for their support for the tax abatement,” Madison said. “Also, City Council no longer has the accounting or reporting authority for the funds donated to the CIC (Community Improvement Corporation).”

Mayor Holly Brinda responded the school district only needs to be notified and is in full support. Madison voted against the legislation.

Both Council At-Large Member Victor Stewart and First Ward Councilman Larry Tanner welcomed the business to Elyria and say they are very excited for the great opportunity the city has received with Johnny K’s investing in the area.

Owner Johnny Kalogerou said he is very excited and looks forward to being part of the community of Elyria.

Other discussions during the meeting sparked from Stewart regarding the last finance meeting on two ordinances concerning the raise of Elyria police Chief Duane Whitely, which was added to the agenda at the last minute Dec. 11.

Stewart said there may have been a communication issue as to why it wasn’t posted sooner.

He said other council members had a conversation months ago with Whitely on how he was looking at other opportunities elsewhere, but didn’t want to see him go.

Council wants to keep him here because he’s a tremendous leader, Stewart said.

Madison said he supports the chief and believes he deserves a raise, but voted against the raise.

“I took the opportunity to meet with the chief previously to share my position with him face-to-face,” he said. “It’s difficult to vote on giving salary increases when we haven’t had proper conversations relating to our 2018 budget allocations, especially for the general fund where we have been experiencing difficulty.

“Also, there’s is no clear process on who or how salaries should be increased or decreased to ensure a fair, timely and equitable process.”

Brinda said the intention has been to complete a salary study as to what positions in the police department deserve a raised based on their training and background.

The administration has looked at other cities with the best practices and visited their departments, suggesting options on how to recalibrate salaries, she said.

“What we’re saying is that we want Elyria to be competitive and that may be within a range of salaries,” the mayor said. “That’s the process we propose in the past, and if done, it would be by administration.”

Mark Jessie, Ward 3, mentioned that the police chief is not necessarily concerned about the change now, but more so down the road.

“He’s not concerned about it for himself,” Jessie said. “He wants to make sure it continues and to have someone fill that position. He wants to make sure the salary is competitive to attract the right candidate (in the future).”