CITY COUNCIL MINUTES

 

MARCH 8, 2007

 

The meeting was called to order by President Pleasant at 7:00 p.m.

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:  Ms. Sellers, Mr. Fogt, Mr. Pleasant, Mr. Burke, Mr. Reams, Mr. Gore

Excused:  Mr. Marshall

 

OTHERS PRESENT:  Director of Administration House, Finance Director Morehart, Asst. Law Director Eufinger, Clerk Patterson

 

REPORTERS PRESENT:  Ryan Horns – Journal Tribune

 

CITIZENS PRESENT:  Kathy Werkmeister, Bill Kelley, Gary Little, Connor Devine, Don Miller, Aaron Underhill, Lloyd Baker

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:  There being no additions or corrections, the minutes for the meeting on February 22, 2007 were approved as written.

 

ADMINISTATIVE REPORT:  Ms. House reported a malfunction of the traffic signal at Mill Road and Echo Drive.  The electrician has been working on diagnosing the problem and will continue to do so until it is working again. 

 

Mr. Morehart reported that the City will be offering income tax assistance again this year.  Sessions will be held March 14th, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. and again on Tuesday, March 20th, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.  A Saturday session will be held on March 31st from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  He encouraged residents to come if they need assistance.

 

Mr. Morehart asked Council’s consideration to add an appropriation ordinance on the consent calendar.  The Fire Department was awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant from U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the amount of $47,385 .  Part of that is already included in the budget.

 

Mr. Gore asked for an update at the next meeting on the 5th Street railroad crossing.

 

REPORT OF CLERK OF COUNCIL:  Clerk Patterson received a request for a C2 liquor permit for CVS Pharmacy, 969 W. 5th Street.  The Police Department had no objections, Council had no objections.

 

At the request of the Ad Hoc Committee formed to discuss Water Treatment Options, Clerk Patterson has registered for a course in grant writing.  This is a 2-day workshop and will be held later this month.

 

REPORT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR:  Mr. Eric Phillips reported that URT (Uptown Renewal Team) is applying for a grant to get an Ohio Historical Marker placed on E. 5th Street, renaming it General Beightler Way.   It has already been named, but a resolution making that change cannot be located .   A presentation will be held on September 28th at 11:00 a.m.  He would like to bring a resolution to Council later this year to make it official. 

 

Mr. Phillips distributed copies of the 2007/2008 Quality of Life book, which was put together by the Chamber.  He also distributed the Strategic Plan for 2007/2008 for the Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development and Tourism.

 

HEARING OF CITIZENS:  Mr. Gary Little addressed Council.  He referred to an article in the Urbana newspaper.  The information was taken from an article printed in the Columbus Dispatch.  He had heard the City had just applied for a grant for sewage.  Congress just passed a bill that allows individuals to use grant money for the sewage.  He read from the article, “In Delaware, officials are hoping that revenue from an existing $2.50 fee will cover the improvements, spokesman Lee Yocum said.  However, Marysville will consider its $2.75 monthly fee, which it has collected since 2004.  The $489,000 that the fee raised last year probably isn’t enough, said Public Service Director Tracie Davies.”  He’s curious  “How much is enough?”

 

Mr. Gore read the same article in the Columbus Dispatch.  He contacted Ms. Davies about that quote.  Ms. Davies said she was totally misquoted and provided him with an explanation of what was actually said.  He understands right now there are no intentions of raising stormwater rates nor an expected need to raise them.   Mr. Gore offered to make Ms. Davies’s explanation available to the Journal Tribune.

 

Ms. House stated the Journal Tribune did run an article on stormwater rates which was very accurate. 

 

Mr. Lloyd Baker addressed Council and distributed copies of newspaper articles from the Journal Tribune relating to the original purchase of the Water Company.  He expressed concern with a quote by the previous City Administrator, Bob Schaumleffel, justifying the substantial rate increases which took place between 2001 and 2006.  In defending those rate increases before they passed Council, the comment was made by the City Administrator that he was “blaming previous administrations’ use of ‘creative accounting’ and “shielded funds” so the severity of the situation was not know.  The reason for Mr. Baker attending tonight’s meeting is to find out “the disposition of those allegations at that time?”  He feels those are pretty hefty comments coming from a City Administrator to go without any reaction.  He noted comments made from February 15, 1991 and February 13, 1991.  He feels the comments made by the City Administrator in 2001 was an attempt to defend the rosy picture that was presented at the time the purchase was made and probably explains why we weren’t in the bed of roses that we were supposed to be at that time.  Feels this should be of concern from the overall City’s standpoint.

 

Mr. Fogt moved to add legislation to the consent calendar and the question put, stood:

 

Ms. Sellers  YES  Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES  Mr. Reams  YES  Mr. Gore  YES

 

Motion passed.

 

RESOLUTIONS

 

The RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION OF BEHALF OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE TO THE OHIO SMALL CITIES PROGRAM FOR $500,000 OF FY2007 COMMUNITY HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM GRANT FUNDS AND TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENT WITH THE MID-OHIO REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY” was presented as second reading, public hearing  Mr. Fogt moved to waive the reading in full; affirmative voice vote was unanimous.  Mr. Fogt moved to pass the emergency and the question put, stood:

 

Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES  Mr. Reams  YES  Mr. Gore  YES  Ms. Sellers  YES

 

Emergency passed.

 

Ms. Kathy Werkmeister from MORPC spoke at the second public hearing for the application that the City intends to submit to the Ohio Department of Development on April 5, 2007.  This will be for the 2007/2009 period – two-year CHIP Program - and will be the third application submitted for the City to administer the Housing Program within the city limits of Marysville.   In order to apply for this program, City has to have an approved CHIS, a five-year housing strategy.  The CHIS was approved by the Ohio Department of Development in 2005 and the policies and procedures were approved at the same time and continue to be used under the current CHIP Program.  The current CHIP Program ends in August of 2007.  The new application, if and when funded, will begin September 1, 2007.

 

The first public hearing was held on January 25, 2007 and provided information about the CHIP Program and eligible activities and program requirements.  CDBG Home and Housing Trust Fund dollars can be used for a broad range of activities, including rehab of housing, and secondary activities such as streets, sanitary and drainage improvements and supportive services such as home ownership education.  The activities must be designed to primarily benefit low and moderate income residents, aid in the prevention or elimination of slums and blight or meet an urgent need in the community.  Home funds must be used to bring houses of eligible families up to existing code requirements.

 

Under the proposed CHIP, plans are to have four activities, including down-payment assistance with a rehab program designed to provide down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time home buyers in the City of Marysville.  Clients must be at or below 80% of the area median income and must put $250 down out of their own pocket in order to supplement the down-payment assistance.  The program can provide up to $32,000 per household for down payment and rehab of the home; generally the average is closer to $20,000.  Those funds are available.  A total of three houses will be assisted for a total of $103,000.  One program changed this year and that was the implementation funds to turn the house into a completed unit are considered part of the cost of that unit.    Each recipient of the down-payment assistance will receive home-buyer education counseling.  Certified counselors are on staff to provide this education.  Home repair assistance will be provided to 19 families.  This is the most visible program the City has.  It allows for $5,000 to be put into a home to make minor home repairs, such as electric, plumbing or roofing.  They can receive that money as a grant rather than as a loan.  A total of $125,000 will go for that program.  The private rehab program will provide up to $35,000 in assistance to rehab six homes in the City of Marysville.  An important part of that program is treating the lead-based paint in the home and making sure that the house is safe if there are children under six in that house then or in the future.  A total of $212,000 will go toward that home-funded activity.  The soft costs are part of the implementation costs and won’t be included in each unit cost and those include lead assessments, lead clearance costs, lab costs and  inspection and testing on furnaces, pest inspections, energy assessments, lien recordings and credit reports. 

 

The application is due April 5th and will be approved in August 2007. 

 

Mr. Fogt thanked Ms. Werkmeister for doing this; it’s a very good program for the City.  He hopes the citizens take advantage of this to the fullest. 

 

Mr. Gore moved to waive third reading, title only and the question put, stood:

 

Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES  Mr. Reams  YES  Mr. Gore  YES  Ms. Sellers  YES  Mr. Fogt  YES

 

Motion passed. 

 

Mr. Gore moved to pass the legislation and the question put, stood:

 

Mr. Burke  YES  Mr. Reams  YES  Mr. Gore  YES  Ms. Sellers  YES  Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES

 

Resolution 5-07 passed.

 

The resolution “TO ADOPT THE HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN AS AN OFFICIAL PLAN OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE, OHIO, UNION COUNTY AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY” was presented for first reading, title only.  Mr. Pleasant made the following comments made by the County. 

 

FEMA has approved the Union County Mitigation Plan. We now need each

city/village in the County to adopt the Plan by Resolution.  What this

means for you is that should your jurisdiction and/or the county be

affected by a disaster and Mitigation funds become available from the

federal government, you may submit projects to receive grants for

Mitigation.  Also, if the plan is not adopted you will not be eligible

for any state or federal funds in the event of a natural disaster.

 

The plan includes a project for each jurisdiction based on the

recommendation of the Union County Mitigation Planning group in 2005.  A jurisdiction may submit additional projects or change the original

project if they wish at any time.

 

We are asking that you pass this resolution as soon as possible, and at

the latest by March 16, 2007.  We realize that this is short notice and

appreciate any efforts to do so.  We are under timeframes set by the

Federal government and they just today sent approval of our plan.

 

Mr. Fogt moved to pass the emergency and the question put, stood:

 

Mr. Reams  YES  Mr. Gore  YES  Ms. Sellers  YES  Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES

 

Emergency passed.

 

Mr. Fogt moved to waive second reading, public hearing and the question put, stood:

 

Mr. Gore  YES  Ms. Sellers  YES  Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES  Mr. Reams  YES

 

Motion passed.

 

Mr. Fogt moved to waive reading in full; affirmative voice vote was unanimous.

 

Mr. Fogt moved to waive third reading, title only and the question put, stood:

 

Ms. Sellers  YES  Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES  Mr. Reams  YES  Mr. Gore  YES

 

Motion passed.

 

Mr. Fogt moved to pass the legislation and the question put, stood:

 

Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES  Mr. Reams  YES  Mr. Gore  YES  Ms. Sellers  YES

 

Resolution 6-07 passed.

 

ORDINANCES

 

The ordinance “AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF NOT TO EXCEED $1,000,000 OF NOTES IN ANTICIPATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAYING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH CONSTRUCTING, RESURFACING AND IMPROVING CITY STREETS, WITH RELATED EQUIPMENT AND ALL NECESSARY APPURTENANCES” was presented for third reading, title only.  Mr. Burke moved to pass the legislation and the question put, stood:

 

Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES  Mr. Reams  YES  Mr. Gore  YES  Ms. Sellers  YES  Mr. Fogt  YES

 

Ordinance 13-07 passed.

 

The ordinance “TO APPROPRIATE $2,340 FROM UNAPPROPRIATED STREET FUNDS FOR EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH A DONATION FROM THE SCOTTS MIRACLE-GRO COMPANY, AND MODIFY THE ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET AS A RESULT OF THIS ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION FOR THE PAYMENT OF THE DONATION EXPENSES” was presented for second reading, public hearing.  Mr. Fogt moved to waive reading in full; affirmative voice vote was unanimous.

 

The ordinance “TO REPEAL ORDINANCE 22-92, REORGANIZING THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE ADVISORY BOARD, AN OFFICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE, OHIO” was presented for second reading, public hearing.  Mr. Gore moved to waive reading in full; affirmative voice vote was unanimous.

 

The ordinance “TO REZONE 1.01 ACRES, MORE OR LESS, LOCATED AT 428 AND 504 E. FOURTH STREET FROM B-1 (SERVICE BUSINESS) AND R-2 (SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL) TO B-R (BUSINESS RESIDENTIAL)” was presented for second reading, public hearing.  Mr. Fogt moved to waive reading in full; affirmative voice vote was unanimous.  A Public Hearing will be held on April 12, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.

 

The ordinance “TO AMEND ORDINANCE 99-06 “SETTING COMPENSATION FOR ALL CITY EMPLOYEES – 2007” was presented for first reading, title only.  This legislation is a result of the minimum wage increase.

 

“AN ORDINANCE TO AUTHORIZE AND DIRECT THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE TO EXECUTE AND SIGN A PETITION ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE, UNION COUNTY, OHIO TO BE PRESENTED TO THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF UNION COUNTY, OHIO BY TARTAN RIDGE, LLC TO CREATE A NEW COMMUNITY AUTHORITY UNDER OHIO REVISED CODE CHAPTER 349 FOR THE BENEFIT OF WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP IN THE CITY OF DUBLIN AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY” was presented for first reading, title only.  Mr. Aaron Underhill of the law firm, Smith & Hale, addressed Council.  This legislation is before Council as an oddity of the Ohio Revised Code for a matter that has very little to do with the City of Marysville.  The Ohio Revised Code states that the Board of County Commissioners is the entity that has to approve a new community authority assessment district.  As a part of that, they also need to go to the “proximate” cities.  This property is in the City of Dublin.  They (Tartan Ridge LLC) are seeking a rezoning.  This project has been before Planning Commission and received a recommendation of approval.  Assuming they can get the necessary approvals on this project, they will go before Dublin City Council.  The statute says they have to go to the largest city in the county to get a “proximate city” approval on this district.  They also have to go to the City of Columbus to get their approval.  From there, they go to the County Commissioners who will be the ones that actually act to form the authority.  This property is located northwest of the corner of Jerome Road and McKitrick Road, which is in northwest Dublin.  This authority is being formed in order to generate additional millage to compensate Washington Township for fireservices they are going to provide to this property.  There will be additional millage that will be allowed for regional infrastructure improvements, such as roads, parks etc.  It was decided to spread the assessment over more homes so the individual property owners aren’t burdened so much with a large fee.  With the current tax rate, it’s about 2.9 mills a year on top of the regular property taxes you pay on the assessed value of the home in this district every year.  There is a total cap of 6 mills on this, because there is additional millage allowed for road improvements, etc.   The reason for doing this is that most of these new community authorities are formed to solve larger problems, problems that are larger than the site itself, and this is one of those instances where the fire service issue is bigger than what’s going on within the site itself.  It is necessary to get this development in place, and it also serves a purpose to help resolve some larger infrastructure concerns due to the proposed Jerome Village development.  This is a way to take care of those and to raise money for that. 

 

Mr. Underwood met with the Mayor, Ms. House and the Law Director to explain this legislation and was told to go back to Jerome Township and update them on the status of this to make sure they didn’t have a problem with this.  However, this does not require their approval.  City Administration said if Jerome Township didn’t have a problem with this, then the issue could be brought before Council to seek their approval.    He reported they did meet with Jerome Township officials, and they had no problem and so reported that to the Mayor.

 

Mr. Gore asked what the City of Marysville would get out of it.  Response from Mr. Underhill was “nothing.”  He said it doesn’t affect Marysville service-wise or in terms of affecting the tax base or any Marysville citizens.  It’s an oddity of the State law.  Mr. Gore stated, it may not today, but it may in the future, because there have been discussions about Jerome Village and potential annexation or community authorities with Jerome Township and others. Who knows what impact that will have at a later date.  Mr. Underhill stated as these inch closer to Marysville, there could be some indirect impacts, but as far as this is concerned, those things could have more of an impact than this would, being so far away from Marysville.  Mr. Gore stated there have been some pretty poor decisions made by the City management, at which he admitted he’s probably been a part of some of those, and it’s coming back to bite us now as we try to construct a wastewater treatment plant, which could very well serve that area at some time; as we look at the need for a reservoir for water storage; as we look at the demand for the growth along the 33 corridor.  In the past, that could have been something simple, sign off on it and send it on, but he’s not sure that’s the case anymore, because that may be why we’re in some of the positions we’re in now.  He’s looking for a benefit here.  Mr. Underhill said the benefit to Marysville is that this is an entity in and of itself, and there are members appointed to a Board that governs this.  These are drafted in a broad sense so that if there any larger issues to be solved in the future, you can allocate funds to those sorts of things.  The sorts of things mentioned by Mr. Gore would be covered in this petition, and if at some point the City thinks they could benefit from this authority, and the Board could find some way to allow them to benefit from some of the monies generated, Marysville could lobby the Board to allocate the funds to those sorts of concerns.  Mr. Gore said he’d like to have that upfront. 

 

Mr. Burke agreed with Mr. Gore.  There is another issue to be addressed with Council at the end of the meeting which deals with an expense.  This is yet another development in that area that ultimately impacts the 33 Corridor.  Albeit piecemeal, he’d like something to come out of this beyond a rubber stamp from the City of Marysville.

 

Mr. Fogt asked for clarification that the sewage and water are being taken care of by Dublin and the City of Columbus.  Mr. Underhill said, “That’s correct.  There is no burden on any service whatsoever from the City of Marysville.  Mr. Fogt noted that this is just to the south edge of Jerome Village, and Jerome Village will be building just to the north of this.  Mr. Underhill agreed. 

 

Ms. Sellers asked how Dublin and the City of Columbus came to the conclusion that they would provide water and sewer.  Mr. Underhill stated that Columbus and Dublin have a long-standing service contract and this fell within the Dublin growth area.  As a result, if annexed, they would have the right to service it through Columbus. 

 

Ms. Sellers clarified that this approval is needed for rezoning from a rural district to a PUD.  She noted there is a lot of detail prepared in connection with the development.  She asked what kind of detail Dublin requires in connection these zonings.  Mr. Underhill stated Dublin requires you to get almost to a final development plan level before you can get a preliminary plan approved.  What he presented tonight is very substantially what you’re going to get.  He noted the only thing that may change due to the ongoing discussions about Jerome Village is an entrance change and a flip in the plan which may affect 30 homes.  Minor things like that may still be up for debate at time of development plan. 

 

Mr. Fogt moved to pass the emergency and the question put, stood:

 

Mr. Reams noted according to Council’s rule for emergencies, it has to be necessary for the benefit of the people in Marysville, and he’s not convinced that this benefits the City of Marysville or the people.   Council deferred the concern to Mr. Eufinger.  Mr. Eufinger noted that it is a pretty broad statement.  Mr. Eufinger asked Mr. Underhill why this legislation needs to be passed as an emergency.  Mr. Understill stated this is like anything in the Ohio Revised Code, there are statutory requirements that have to be followed.  They tried to start this process in conjunction with their zoning, and their zoning has actually moved more quickly than anticipated, so as a result, there are some stipulations on what they can and can’t do in terms of building before this form is approved.  That’s why the emergency is being requested.  He added that he doesn’t want to force Council’s hand, but it would be very much appreciated.  Mr. Eufinger stated this falls under the concept that obviously the reason the statute was written was that Marysville presumably did have some impact on this, and that they wouldn’t come to Council for an approval if it somehow didn’t impact the City of Marysville.  That is a pretty tenuous and light impact, but according to the General Assembly, it has some impact on the health, welfare, etc.  He does not feel this is excluded from the emergency legislation concept, but the fact remains that the General Assembly felt it impacted the City or we wouldn’t be doing this. 

 

Mr. Burke  NO  Mr. Reams  NO  Mr. Gore  NO  Ms. Sellers  NO  Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES

 

Emergency failed.

 

Consent Calendar Legislation

 

The ordinance “TO APPROPRIATE $18,965 FROM UNAPPROPRIATED GENERAL FUNDS FOR EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT, AND MODIFY THE ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET AS A RESULT OF THIS ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION FOR THE PAYMENT OF THE GRANT EXPENDITURES” was presented for first reading, title only. 

 

Mr. Fogt commended the Fire Department for going after these grants. 

 

Ms. Sellers moved to waive second reading, public hearing and the question put, stood:

 

Mr. Reams  YES  Mr. Gore  YES  Ms. Sellers  YES  Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES

 

Motion passed.

 

Mr. Fogt moved to waive reading in full; affirmative voice vote was unanimous.

 

Mr. Gore moved to waive third reading, title only and the question put, stood:

 

Mr. Gore  YES  Ms. Sellers  YES  Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES  Mr. Reams  YES

 

Motion passed.

 

Mr. Reams moved to pass the legislation and the question put, stood:

 

Ms. Sellers  YES  Mr. Fogt  YES  Mr. Pleasant  YES  Mr. Burke  YES  Mr. Reams  YES  Mr. Gore  YES

 

Ordinance 14-07 passed. 

 

COMMENTS OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL PERSONS AND GENERAL DISCUSSION

 

 

1.     Parks & Recreation Representative  - No report.

 

Mr. Fogt said that the Ad Hoc Committee on water rates is still working on the issue.  A lot of different things have come out lately and the committee will continue working to come up with a resolution soon.

 

Mr. Burke publicly thanked the Marysville Police Department for their prompt response to an attempted break-in at his pharmacy on Friday night. 

 

Mr. Burke asked Mr. Eufinger for an opinion by the next Council meeting on a document which Council has been presented with for a contractual relationship with Jerome Township, involving services through outside sources to review the 33 Corridor and seek their advice on that.  He’s being told on our end, that we are not able to enter that agreement, and Jerome Township’s attorney is telling them that we could enter that agreement without going through any kind of public bid process.  He noted it’s important to us to have some kind of planning arrangement with them; it fits into the big scheme of all our utilities.  He noted the Mayor has the agreement.  Ms. House noted she thought that the Law Director had rendered an opinion and she would check and get a copy to Council.  Mr. Burke asked Mr. Eufinger to touch base with Jerome’s attorney to reach some understanding on what needs to be done to move forward.  He wants to know where we have to go before we do anything on water rates. 

 

Mr. Burke announced an Ad Hoc Committee meeting will be held on Monday, March 12th at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers for the purpose of discussing water rates. 

 

Mr. Gore thanked Ms. House for filling out the pre-application for the EPA, to see if the City will qualify for any of their funds.   

 

Mr. Pleasant noted recent break-ins in his end of town and said the Police were very quick in taking care of those.

 

ADJOURNMENT:  There being no further business to come before Council, the meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.