The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at the Sharon Township Meeting Hall. The following Council members were present: Mayor Dan Schlichting, Jeffrey L. Amick, Charles T. Bell, Janet R. Heidkamp, Leah M. Pyter, Emily J. Saving, and Suzanne K. Surface. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, Leah Reibel, Solicitor, Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, William Charles, Street Commissioner, and Greg Bonk, Web Manager. Guests of Council were Jeff Mussman and Kyle Dy. At 6:30 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting of June 16, 2025 were not read since each member had received a copy. Amick moved and Saving seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 5, Amick, Bell, Heidkamp, Saving, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-0). Pyter was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote.

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Saving moved and Amick seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for June 2025 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 4, Amick, Bell, Heidkamp, Saving, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-0). Pyter was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote.

Heidkamp moved and Bell seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for July 2025 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 5, Amick, Bell, Heidkamp, Saving, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-0). Pyter was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote.

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor expressed appreciation for the Council members who were able to attend the special Council meetings for the general and infrastructure levy resolutions in July and August.
  2. The Mayor updated Council on the Selby Bridge project. The last part of the bridge was recently installed. This process required a total shutdown of the bridge and the rerouting of traffic through Riverlea during installation. The Mayor stated that he had not heard of any traffic complaints during this period. The project is expected to be complete in late September/early October.
  3. The Mayor stated that he had not received the recent reports on Worthington Fire activity within the Village and he has reached out for these.
  4. The Mayor stated that he had received the July report on Worthington Police activity within the Village. There were 220 runs, one theft report, one parking violation, and two requests to remove dead deer, which were handled by the Worthington Service Department.
  5. The Mayor reported that he had reached a signed agreement with Carolyn Benton of 5795 Westchester Ct for reimbursement for issues with her storm drain as a result of the infrastructure project within the Village. He delivered her the payment upon the signing of the agreement.
  6. The Mayor reported that a resident had reported that someone from the apartment building located at the northeast end of High St had placed a toilet for waste pickup on the far side of the driveway and in their property. They stated that there had been other incidents in the past by apartment residents leaving waste in this location. The Mayor stated that he had reached out to the apartment owner to discuss the issue. Per the Village code, all residents should place their waste out no more than 24 hours before the scheduled pickup day
  7. The Mayor informed Council that two trees had been removed from the Circle Park. He stated that Council may want to look into a tree replacement program similar to that enacted after the infrastructure project to replace these trees and others throughout the Village that have died and/or been removed. Amick reported that a tree on the south side of the park has several dead branches and wondered if there is an issue causing this to happen. Bell recommended that the Village remove these dead branches and investigate the issue. Council was to discuss this later in the meeting.
  8. The Mayor stated that he had not received an update from the City of Worthington regarding the relining of the shared sewer line. He will reach out to John Moorehead on the issue.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor provided an update on the skeleton that had been discovered along the banks of the Olentangy River during a renovation project. In previous conversations, she had been instructed to reach out to the Ohio Historical Society for a follow up in the August/September timeframe and will be reaching out soon for these discussions.
  2. The Solicitor stated that she is expecting feedback from the Planning Commission on the updates to the zoning code around fence ordinances.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner reported that he has submitted the storm water report to the Ohio EPA
  2. The Street Commissioner is working with the Infrastructure Committee to develop a priority list of supplies for the Lift Station, including which parts to keep on hand for use in the event of an emergency.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

The Planning Commissioner stated that the Commission had not met in several months due to lack of applications. He had recently contacted a resident on Crescent about a pile of gravel in the street and the resident quickly complied with ordinances and removed it.

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 the Committee had not met in August and is working on the list of items to keep on hand for Lift Station maintenance.

  1. Web Manager

 

  1. The Web Manager stated that he had performed basic web and security updates.
  2. The Web Manager suggested the possibility of a virtual kiosk on the web site that would match that of the kiosks throughout the Village. He will work with the Clerk-Treasurer to develop this.

 

  1. Communications Committee

There was no report from the Chair of the Communications Committee.

  1. Record Retention

The Records Retention Committee did not meet and will set a new meeting date.

New Business

  1. Rescind Resolution 2025-05

The Clerk-Treasurer explained that the original resolutions and ordinances for the upcoming levies would need to be rescinded due to the versions passed at the special meetings over the summer. Saving moved and Heidkamp seconded the motion to rescind Resolution 2025 – 05 – A Resolution Requesting the County Auditor to Certify to the Village Information Needed to Enable the Village to Levy a Tax in Excess of the Ten Mill Limitation, in the Amount of 4.5 Mills for the General Fund, and to Declare an Emergency. The motion carried (6-0).

  1. Rescind Resolution 2025-06

Saving moved and Surface seconded the motion to rescind Resolution 2025 – 06 – A Resolution Requesting the County Auditor to Certify to the Village Information Needed to Enable the Village to Levy a Tax in Excess of the Ten Mill Limitation, in the Amount of 1.1 Mills for the Infrastructure Maintenance Fund, and to Declare an Emergency. The motion carried (6-0).

  1. Rescind Ordinance 01-2025

Bell moved and Surface seconded the motion to rescind Ordinance 01-2025 – An Ordinance Determining to Levy a General Fund Levy of 4.5 Mills, Outside the Ten-Mill Limitation. The motion carried (6-0).

  1. Rescind Ordinance 02-2025

Saving moved and Heidkamp seconded the motion to rescind Ordinance 02-2025 – An Ordinance Determining to Levy an Infrastructure Maintenance Fund Levy of 1.1 Mills, Outside the Ten-Mill Limitation. The motion carried (6-0).

  1. Board of Elections Filings

Pyter inquired as to whether anyone has filed for open spots on Village Council in the upcoming general election in November. Saving and Bell stated that they filed petitions with the board to get on the ballot. Resident Jeff Mussman also stated that he submitted with the Board to be a write-in candidate on the ballot.

  1. Infrastructure Bond Fund Rate

The Mayor stated that he and the Clerk-Treasurer have discussed the possibility of lowering the rate at which Franklin County taxes residents for the Infrastructure Bond Fund, which is used to repay loans used in the construction and maintenance of roads, sewers and water lines in the Village. This rate is currently set at 7 mills and based on the balance in the fund and the amount paid back annually, seems to be too high. The Clerk-Treasurer will contact the Franklin County Auditor’s office to begin this discussion.

  1. Tree Replacement Program

Pyter inquired as to whether the Village should contact an arborist regarding the tree damage that Amick reported in the Circle. Saving stated that she would contact Davey Tree Care Service to assess the damage and recommend a care program.

In regards to the replacement of the trees that had been cut down in the Circle, Bell stated that he had researched some trees and located reasonably priced elms at Oakland Nursery that will reach an estimated 50-60 ft. in height and fit in with the other trees at the park and throughout the Village. Council expressed a willingness to introduce a tree replacement program similar to that which was available to residents in 2019 after the completion of the infrastructure project. Such a program would allow residents to purchase trees at a discount and have them planted as long as they are placed in or near the right of way. Council will research companies who may be interested in participating in such a program. The Mayor stated that the City of Columbus has a list of recommended trees for planting and he will share this list with Council.

Expenses

Heidkamp moved and Saving seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:

$   243.00 – Josh Mehling – Graduation banner reimbursement

$   227.11 – Josh Mehling – Supplies & Postage

$     13.95 – Thomas Bell – Flagpole replacement reimbursement

$1,992.50 – American Legal Publishing – 2025 Codification

$   206.70 – American Legal Publishing – 2025 Code additions.

The motion was approved (6-0).

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 September 15, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Worthington Library.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Heidkamp moved and Pyter seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (6-0). The meeting was adjourned at 7:32 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Daniel E. Schlichting, Mayor