The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at the Old Worthington Library. The following Council members were present: Mayor Dan Schlichting, Jeffrey L. Amick, Charles T. Bell, Jeffrey Mussman, Emily J. Saving, and Kent Shimeall. Also present were Greg Bonk, Web Manager, Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, Leah Reibel, Solicitor and Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer. At 6:32 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the regular Council meeting of March 16, 2026 were not read since each member had received a copy. Amick moved and Bell seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 4, Amick, Bell, Mussman, Shimeall; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (4-0). Saving was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote.

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Bell moved and Shimeall seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for March 2026 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 4, Amick, Bell, Mussman, Shimeall; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (4-0). Saving was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote.

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor reported that the Easter Egg Hunt had been held on March 26 and thanked the organizers for their work.
  2. The Mayor reported that the Village would again display banners for the graduating high school seniors in May. He stated that he would be including a request for names of these graduates in an upcoming email to residents.
  3. The Mayor reported that new flags had been installed at the entrances to the Village along High St.
  4. The Mayor reported that he had received the March report from the Worthington Fire Department and that there had been five EMS calls and one report of a downed power line.
  5. The Mayor stated that he had received the March report from the Worthington Police Department and there were 122 patrols, four house checks, two alarms, two reports of behavioral health issues, and one roadway obstruction. Bell stated that someone had reported on the Village Facebook page that someone had kicked their front door and ran away. He mentioned that there were reports of this being a larger trend in the area.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor reported that she had attended the April Planning Commission meeting and had begun the review of the proposed changes to the code from the Commission. A primary concern was the proposal that the Village place restrictions on demolition and replacement of homes. She stated that the Village may not be able to enforce this, as it is not classified as a historic district. She mentioned that other municipalities had addressed similar concerns by requiring owners to receive a demolition permit before this work. The Planning Commissioner stated that he felt that Riverlea architecture is unique and should be protected and that homes should have to be declared uninhabitable in order to be demolished. He felt that requirements for a demolition permit may slow down the process but would likely not prevent it. The Mayor explained that the Solicitor’s review of the proposed code is to protect the Village from legal challenges in the future.
  2. The Solicitor stated that she had reviewed the ODOT Traffic Control Devices manual and felt that if the Village wished to create a three-way stop at Olentangy and Southington, it may require a traffic study before proceeding. The Mayor distributed a map of the Village, with the stop signs pointed out. This showed that there are 11 potential locations for a stop sign within the Village. The Solicitor mentioned that another option would be that the Village could place notices on the stop signs on Olentangy notifying drivers that traffic from Southington does not stop. The Mayor stated that this was the initial proposal that caused the conversation around stop signs. Council will continue to discuss the issue when the Street Commissioner is back from vacation.
  3. Mussman expressed interest in the Village approaching the residents of the property on Riverglen where there had formerly been a cut through to Evening Street about the Village obtaining an easement to create this cut through once more. The Solicitor stated that the primary reason that this had been closed in the past was that users were not respecting the land and its owners and were causing disruptions.

The Mayor stated the situation with the homeowners might be different now and there may be value in discussing the situation with them. Mussman will further research the issue and plans to make a recommendation at the May meeting.

Report of the Street Commissioner

The Street Commissioner was not in attendance, but the Mayor reported that he had received an email from him stating that the sewer line at 5859 Olentangy had been relined.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

  1. The Planning Commissioner reported that the Commission had approved two applications in April:
    1. An update to the Certificate of Appropriateness request at 235 W Southington to update the landscaping, patio, and walkway, and to expand the current driveway. The owner dropped the request to expand the driveway after questions around its proximity to the lot line.
  2. A Certificate of Appropriateness and Variance request at 247 W Southington to add an addition and patio at the rear of the home. The variance was requested and granted as the addition encroaches on the ten-foot setback required in the code but will line up with the existing house and align with an extension on the neighboring property.
  3. The Planning Commissioner briefly discussed the proposed changes to the code concerning fences, stating that the primary goal of the Commission is to clarify the existing code. The Mayor asked if there was an estimate on when Council would receive these proposed changes and the Commissioner replied that his current estimate is two months. The Solicitor inquired if current fences would be grandfathered into any potential new rules and the Planning Commissioner confirmed that they would.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure

Schlichting, the Chair of the Committee, reported that it may be time to reapproach the City of Worthington about the potential of cost sharing in a project to reline a shared water line that was not addressed during the recent infrastructure project. It is likely that Worthington could address this project during its round of improvement projects planned for 2027. The municipalities had had agreed to this cost sharing as a condition of Riverlea granting Worthington use of its easement at the end of Melbourne Pl during the Selby Bridge reconstruction project in 2025. Schlichting said that he would reach out to John Moorehead with the City of Worthington to discuss this.

  1. Web Manager

The Web Manager reported that he had installed standard updates and plugins and requested new headshots from the new Council members.

  1. Communications Committee

There was no report from the Communications Committee.

  1. Ordinance 01-2026

Ordinance 01-2026, An Ordinance to Adopt a Cybersecurity Policy for the Village of Riverlea, Ohio had its second reading. The Solicitor stated that she felt that the deadline for implementation of these policies would likely be extended, as many jurisdictions will not have a policy in place by the current deadline. The Mayor stated that the Village is on pace to have its policy in place by July 1.

  1. Tree Service

Amick pointed out that the tree at the southwest corner of the Circle Park is dead and asked how to handle this. Saving stated that she would contact Davey Tree Services about reviewing the cost to remove this tree as well as the dead tree in the ravine.

New Business

  1. Circle Park Tables

Amick reported that the tables and benches in Circle Park are in need of new paint and inquired if Council is interested in soliciting bids for this project. There was interest from Council and Amick agreed to seek these bids to repaint this furniture in a similar color to existing.

  1. Resident Volunteerism

The Mayor raised the idea of creating a Village volunteer task force to assist with small tasks around the Village, such as maintenance of common areas. He proposed offering a dinner to volunteers annually to thank them for such services. He will include this idea in his upcoming newsletter to gauge interest.

Expenses

Saving moved and Amick seconded the motion to approve the below expenses:

$75.58 – Dan Schlichting – New entrance flags

The motion was approved (5-0).

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on non-agenda items.

Next Meeting Announcement

The next regular meeting will be Monday, May 18, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Worthington Library.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Amick moved and Bell seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (6-0). The meeting was adjourned at 8:16 p.m.

 

Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner

Josh Mehling, Clerk