CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
MARCH 13, 2008
The
meeting was called to order by President Gore at 7:00 p.m.
MEMBERS
PRESENT: Mr. Taylor, Mr. Fogt, Mr. Gore, Ms. Groat, Mr.
Reams
EXCUSED: Mr. Marshall, Ms. Sellers
OTHERS
PRESENT: Mayor Schmenk,
Finance Director Morehart, City Engineer Roush, Asst.
Law Director Eufinger, Clerk Patterson
REPORTERS
PRESENT: Ryan Horns – Journal Tribune,
Jeff Donahue – ThisWeek
CITIZENS
PRESENT: Bill Kelley, Jillian Froment, Doug Golden, Dennis Schulze, Heather Jepson, Eric
Phillips
APPROVAL
OF MINUTES: There being no additions or
corrections, the minutes for the meeting on February 28, 2008
were approved as written.
There
being no additions or corrections, the minutes for the meeting
on February 29, 2008 were approved as written.
ADMINISTRATIVE
REPORT: Mr. Morehart
reported that the first of three sessions for Income Tax Assistance was held
last evening. Two more are scheduled,
March 18th, 5:00-7:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 29th, 9:00
a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Mr.
Fogt complimented the City crews on doing a great job
with snow removal.
REPORT
OF CLERK OF COUNCIL: Received a request
for a D5 liquor permit for Bonick LLC, dba Cue Stick Café,
Mr.
Gore asked Mr. Eufinger to find out if the number of
licenses has been increased for the City.
Seems like a number of new licenses have been
requested. He’ll check and find
out.
REPORT
OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR: Mr.
Phillips reported that by the end of this next year, $5M will have been
invested in uptown Marysville since 2005.
$1.4M of that private sector investment, $3.1M is the County and their
investment in the Heilig Meyers building. The City itself has invested $1M in street resurfacing
and various projects in uptown Marysville.
On top of that, going back to 1999/2000, the City invested another
$1.5M, which means since YR2000, $7M has been invested.
Chamber
Annual Dinner was held. Large Business
of the Year award went to Memorial Hospital of Union County; Small Business of
the Year went to Hostettler Buildings; Business Leader of the Year went to Pat
Hamilton and the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Steve Stolte. Over 400 people attended. It was a great event.
Mr.
Phillips passed out Strategic Plan cards to Council. It covers the plans for the Chamber of
Commerce, what they’re doing and where they’re going, for the next two
years.
HEARING
OF CITIZENS: Mr. Dennis Schulze
addressed Council regarding uptown parking.
Four people from his office received parking tickets yesterday. They generally don’t have a parking
problem. He researched the issue and
found that nine parking spaces were gone due to the construction, four gone
because commercial vehicles park there 24 hours a day, which is either not
prohibited or not enforced; seven plus spots were related to the county office
building, subcontractor trucks or private vehicles. He realizes they have to park somewhere. His concern is what is going to happen when
the County building is done and open?
There will be a lot of people working there. He feels legislation is going to be needed to
purchase land for additional parking or begin some enforcement. The City attempted to increase the parking
spots in the City lots by making the spaces narrower, making it hard to get in
and out. Need to look into the problem.
Mr.
Gore agreed to check into it. If we have
laws, they need to be enforced.
Mr.
Fogt said enforcement should be done very carefully. We’re trying to promote the uptown.
Mayor
Schmenk said she would talk to Police Chief
Golden.
Ms.
Groat sees this as a long-term issue if we’re
revitalizing the uptown area, and parking is one of the major issues. Possibly should be discussed in Committee.
Mr.
Gore referred the issue to Public Service Committee.
RESOLUTIONS
“RESOLUTION
AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO COOPERATE AND ALLOW THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION TO RESURFACE US 33 FROM SOUTH OF THE US36/DELAWARE AVENUE
INTERCHANGE IN MARYSVILLE, OHIO TO FRANKLIN COUNTY LINE AND DECLARING AN
EMERGENCY” was presented for third reading, title only. Mr. Taylor moved to pass the legislation and
the question put, stood:
Mr.
Fogt YES
Mr. Gore YES Ms. Groat YES Mr.
Reams YES Mr. Taylor
YES
Resolution
4-08 passed.
“RESOLUTION
AUTHORIZING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO SELL .089 ACRE TRACT OF LAND” was
presented for third reading, title only.
Mr. Fogt moved to pass the legislation and the
question put, stood:
Mr.
Gore YES Ms. Groat YES
Mr. Reams YES Mr.
Resolution
5-08 passed.
“A
RESOLUTION APPROVING AN APPLICATION FOR THE PRESERVE AMERICA COMMUNITY
DESIGNATION” was presented for second reading, public hearing. Mr. Fogt moved to
waive reading in full; affirmative voice vote was unanimous. Mr. Phillips said that the Chamber’s
Leadership Institute has a class that is working on this.
Mr.
Doug Golden addressed Council. He is a resident,
business owner and a participant in the Leadership Institute. Twenty-five members of the community are
asked to participate in this program.
Throughout this course, the members are asked to take on certain
projects to benefit
“RESOLUTION
SUPPORTING D.A.R.E. PROGRAM FOR THE 2008/2009 SCHOOL YEAR” was presented for
first reading, title only. This
legislation is in anticipation of the D.A.R.E. application process and is for the
2008/2009 school year. The 50% match is
the anticipated grant money versus the dollars the City spends.
ORDINANCES
“ORDINANCE
ACCEPTING A GIFT OF REAL ESTATE ON NORTH MAPLE STREET” was presented for third
reading, title only. Mr. Reams
questioned the acreage. The legislation
states 2 acres, but the legal description (Exhibit A) states one acre. Mr. Eufinger said
it is just one acre. It was Mr. Eufinger’s ruling that this should be considered a typographical
error. The Legal Description has always
been a part of the ordinance. The Clerk
will change the 2 to a 1. Mr. Reams
moved to pass the legislation and the question put, stood:
Ms.
Groat YES
Mr. Reams YES Mr. Taylor
YES Mr. Fogt YES Mr.
Gore YES
Ordinance
7-08 passed.
The
ordinance “TO APPROPRIATE $3,270.30 FROM UNAPPROPRIATED GENERAL FUNDS FOR CITY
SAFETY EXPENSES FOR THE ANNUAL COUNTY HEALTH FAIR AND OTHER WELLNESS
INITIATIVES, AND MODIFY THE ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET AS A RESULT OF THIS
ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION FOR THE PAYMENT OF THESE EXPENDITURES” was presented
for third reading, title only. Mr. Fogt moved to pass the legislation and the question, put,
stood:
Mr.
Reams YES Mr. Taylor
YES Mr. Fogt YES
Mr. Gore YES Ms. Groat YES
Ordinance
8-08 passed.
The
ordinance “TO APPROPRIATE $111,000 FROM UNAPPROPRIATED GENERAL FUNDS FOR THE
PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF MOBILE DATA COMPUTERS IN THE MARKED POLICE
VEHICLES AND AUTOMATIC VEHICLE LOCATION (AVL) SOFTWARE, AND MODIFY THE ANNUAL
OPERATING BUDGET AS A RESULT OF THESE EXPENDITURES” was presented for third
reading, title only. Mr. Taylor moved to
pass the legislation and the question put, stood:
Mr.
Taylor YES Mr. Fogt YES
Mr. Gore YES Ms. Groat YES Mr. Reams
YES
Ordinance
9-08 passed.
“AN
ORDINANCE AMENDING 2008 APPROPRIATIONS AND AUTHORIZING AN ADDITIONAL TRANSFER
OF FUNDS FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE STREET MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR FUND AND
MODIFYING THE ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET AS A RESULT OF THIS ACTION” was presented
for second reading, public hearing. Ms. Groat moved to waive reading in full; affirmative voice
vote was unanimous.
An
ordinance “TO AMEND SECTION 1144.03, ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES, OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE PLANNING AND ZONING CODE” was
presented for first reading, title only.
Mr. Gore explained Council passed this ordinance when the Design Review
Board was established. There was a
mix-up when the company, who codifies the ordinances, did the 2007
updates. This legislation will correct
the error. A Public Hearing was
scheduled for April 24, 2008 as required by Section 1131.08 of the Planning and
Zoning Code.
An
ordinance “AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF NOTES IN THE AMOUNT OF NOT TO EXCEED
$23,000,000 IN ANTICIPATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAYING
COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, EXPANSION, REHABILITATION,
AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE CITY’S MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER COLLECTION AND TREATMENT
SYSTEM, AND RETIRING NOTES PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR SUCH PURPOSE; AND AUTHORIZING
USE OF AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT RELATING TO THE SALE OF THE NOTES, IF NECESSARY”
was presented for first reading, title only.
Mr. Morehart proposed an amendment. He explained $23,000,000 of sewer notes were
issued last year with a maturity date of June 5, 2008. We also issued $1,750,000 JRS sewer notes in
November and the maturity date on that was also June 5th, a short
maturity date to make sure both of these notes matured on the same date to
reduce financing costs by rolling over one note versus two. When the legislation was submitted to the
Clerk, it included only the one note. He
asked to amend the ordinance by adding the second note, for a total of
$24,750,000. Mr. Taylor moved to approve
the amended amount of $24,750,000 and the question put, stood:
Mr.
Fogt YES
Mr. Gore YES Ms. Groat YES
Mr. Reams YES Mr. Taylor
YES
Motion
passed.
COMMENTS
OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL PERSONS AND GENERAL DISCUSSION
1.
Parks & Recreation Representative
Mayor
Schmenk reported she attended a meeting of the
Industrial Parkway Association this morning and spoke in tandem with County
Commissioner Lee. This is a vibrant and
thriving group. She feels fortunate that
it is tied in with the Union County Chamber of Commerce. Believes we should stay in touch, because
they add a lot to our economy.
Mr.
Taylor complimented the street crew on snow removal. He noted that on Sunday night, a City crew
truck member saw someone in trouble, as far as being broke down, and made a
point to stop and help that person in trouble.
Mr.
Taylor said Ms. Davies will be missed. She
is leaving the City for another position.
Congratulations
to David Burke, former Marysville City Councilman, and now State
Representative.
Mr.
Taylor thanked Mr. Gore for bringing up the trash issue, which is being sent to
Finance. Mr. Taylor was one of the
citizens who complained about the extra charge.
Mr.
Taylor announced that Chase Blackburn will be in town, along with Steve Devine,
on Sunday afternoon. Both are associated
with the New York Giants.
Mr.
Fogt reported that there was a Public Service
Committee meeting this week. As Chair of
that committee, Mr. Reams will report on it.
Mr.
Reams reported on the topics covered during the Public Service Committee. Heard updates on the Trunk Interceptor and
Water Reclamation Facility, along with the Reservoir Projects. Discussed the Southwest
Sanitary Sewer design, the Job Ready Site project and the
Had quite a discussion on the Safe Routes to School. Not only are there a couple of projects going
on related to that, but the schools have placed a greater burden on the City in
that respect, in the changes in the transportation. With all the snow this week, it’s become a
real problem. There were lots and lots
of residential property owners and businesses who failed to remove the snow
from the sidewalk. More children are
walking to school. There are more
children who now have to walk two blocks to get on the bus and people didn’t
even clear their snow. It stopped
snowing on Saturday and people still have not shoveled. He noted Millcreek Apartments as an example,
right by the High School and Middle School.
They piled their snow up on top of the sidewalk. The High School has a paved path that
connects to the Meadows Apartments. That
is piled up with snow too. It’s
irritating to him. The kids have to walk
to school at the time that the roads are the busiest. There is no place for them to walk but the
streets. He’s very disappointed in what
he saw this week. The Street Department
crews did a great job on the streets.
Mr.
Gore said that Ms. Sellers is assigned to be Council’s school
representative. There has not been an invitation
to attend a meeting in a couple of years.
The Mayor contacted the superintendent and offered the assistance of the
City. Ms. Sellers will be more than happy to be a part of that
partnership.
Ms.
Groat thanked the City for allowing her to attend the
Ohio Municipal League Seminar for Newly Elected Council Members. It was an extremely valuable experience.
Discussed general powers of municipalities, powers and duties of council
members, Home Rule and its definition, Council procedures, open meetings,
finance and municipal operations. There are
two more sessions that she would like to attend in order to complete her
training.
Mr.
Gore said he was meeting with Mr. Morehart and Mr.
Green in the morning regarding the trash issue.
Mr.
Gore said it’s been a busy two weeks with meetings and committee meetings and
thanked the Mayor for the continued partnership.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come
before Council, the meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.