Regular Council Meeting
August 20, 2018
The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at the Thomas Worthington High School, Worthington. The following Council members were present: Mayor Eric A. MacGilvray, Marc Benevento, Scott K. Gordon, Kathy McClintock, Ted Miller, and Leah Pyter. Also present were Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor, William P. Charles, Street Commissioner, and Greg Bonk, Web Manager. Guests of Council were Bob Rashid and Robert Simon, as well as Mike Seal from Burgess & Niple. At 7:00 p.m. the Mayor called the meeting to order.
Open Council Seat
Josh Schoenberger had submitted his resignation from Village Council as his family had moved out of the Village. Present for the meeting were residents Leah Pyter, Bob Rashid, and Robert Simon, who had expressed interest in filling this open seat. The three discussed their interest and qualifications in the open seat.
Executive Session
Gordon moved and Benevento seconded the motion to adjourn into Executive Session pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22(G)(1) to discuss the appointment, employment or compensation of a public official or employee. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea – 4; Benevento, Gordon, McClintock, and Miller: No – None. The motion was approved 4-0. Council adjourned into Executive Session at 7:15 p.m.
Gordon moved and McClintock seconded the motion to adjourn out of Executive Session and resume Open Session. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea – 4; Benevento, Gordon, McClintock, and Miller: No – None. The motion was approved 4-0.
Council resumed Open Session at 7:25 p.m.
The Mayor appointed, with Council’s approval, Leah Pyter to fill the vacant Council position and she was sworn in for a term ending in December 2021.
Construction Update
Mike Seal of Burgess & Niple addressed Council on the status of the infrastructure construction. He noted that the project was at the phase where curbs are being replaced throughout the Village, which was expected to take about two months. The Village is still waiting for the City of Columbus to approve the water line installation, at which point connections to the new lines will begin throughout the Village. This process will involve water being shut off for up to few hours at a time. As the curbs are replaced, some of the new curbs will be several inches below the current street level, though this will vary by street, and the new streets will match the curb elevations. Seal noted that Kevin Masters of Kevin Masters Arborists had submitted a quote for treatment of trees throughout the Village to repair damage from the construction project, and that this contract covered more trees than were initially expected. Council supported this submitted estimate.
Minutes
The minutes of the regular Council meeting of June 18, 2018 were not read since each member had received a copy. Benevento moved and McClintock seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yes: 4 – Benevento, Gordon, McClintock, & Miller; No: 0; Abstain: 1 – Pyter. The motion carried (4-0-1).
Report of the Clerk-Treasurer
Miller moved and Benevento seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for June 2018 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (5-0).
Miller moved and Benevento seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for July 2018 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (5-0).
Report of the Mayor
The Mayor mentioned that he had heard from several residents about access issues resulting from the curb excavation and replacement work. He hoped that these residents could be better accommodated going forward.
Report of the Solicitor
- The Solicitor stated that she had prepared a resolution and ordinance to be approved later in the meeting, Resolution 2018-08, A Resolution Authorizing Certain Village Officials to Execute a Memorandum of Understanding for the Investigation of Child Abuse and Neglect She explained that Franklin County Children’s Services is requesting that all cities and villages in Franklin County sign this document.
- The Solicitor reported that she had been notified by the Ohio Auditor of State that the Village’s audit had been released and that she would disseminate this to the Council members.
- The Solicitor reported that the Village had received a public records request concerning previous Planning Commission records, and that this would be discussed further in the Planning Commissioner section.
Report of the Street Commissioner
The Street Commissioner reported that there had been issues with the Lift Station. These instances concerned power outages that led to overflows.
Report of the Planning Commissioner
- The Planning Commissioner reported that there had been a records request from a resident. The neighbor of this resident had complained that this resident’s driveway encroached on his property. When the records were pulled, they showed that the driveway had been in this location prior to 2001. The Planning Commissioner and Mayor discussed this with the resident and neighbor and explained that most of the driveway encroachment was in the village’s right of way. The driveway will be cut to remove the remaining encroachment.
- The Planning Commissioner reported that at the August meeting there had been a request for Variance for a garage that the resident wished to place two feet from the lot line. The Planning Commission approved the submitted drawing, which showed the garage five feet from the lot line. The neighbors had approved the two foot placement, but the Planning Commission was uncomfortable with setting a precedent placing it this close without proof of hardship. The Planning Commissioner explained that the residents were planning on appealing this decision to the Council.
Comments from Residents on Agenda Items
There were no comments from residents.
Old Business
- Committee on Infrastructure
- Benevento, the Chair of the committee, reported that there was no meeting in August, but that he, the Mayor, and the Street Commissioner had met with the Worthington Fire Chief earlier in the month. The Chief had mentioned that the new hydrants in the Village were built to Columbus specs rather than Worthington specs, and that there was a difference between these two. The committee is investigating whether it would be best to repair, replace, or leave the hydrants unchanged.
- The Chair stated that there had been a construction update meeting with Burgess & Niple and Elite Excavating. Among the topics discussed was safety with the trenches being dug for the curbs. The Village feels that more cones are needed to mark these trenches. The Chair also asked the Contractor to clean up the construction debris at the south end of Olentangy as well as trash throughout the Village.
- Committee on Communications
The Mayor mentioned that a new Chair of this committee was needed with the resignation of Josh Schoenberger. Scott Gordon volunteered to Chair the committee and Leah Pyter and Bob Rashid also volunteered to serve on the committee.
- Web Manager
- The Web Manager reported that he had contacted the previous Web Manager and received access to the villageofriverlea.com Gmail address. This contains the contact information that residents have been entering.
- The Web Manager reported that there had been a web outage for a short time in July.
New Business
- Planning Commission Public Meetings
The Solicitor stated that there was some language in the code for the Planning Commission that was not in compliance with the Ohio Open Records Laws, stating that Planning Commission meetings are open to the public, but are not public meetings. Changing this will involve amending the ordinance and codifying the new ordinance with American Legal Publishing. Since this will involve an expense, she asked if there were any other zoning ordinances that need to be amended at this time. The Mayor asked anyone who had possible revisions to contact him.
- Resolution 2018-08
Resolution 2018-08, A Resolution Authorizing Certain Village Officials to Execute a Memorandum of Understanding for the Investigation of Child Abuse and Neglect, and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by McClintock. McClintock moved and Benevento seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution in order to sign this memorandum and submit it to the county in a timely manner. The motion passed (5-0). McClintock moved and Miller seconded the motion to approve of the resolution. The motion passed (5-0).
- Ordinance 02-2018
Ordinance 02-2018, Ordinance to Accept the Easement at 5704 Olentangy Boulevard was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and McClintock seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to continue with the construction project in a timely manner. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yes: 4 – Gordon, McClintock, Miller, & Pyter; No: 0; Abstain: 1 – Benevento. The motion carried (4-0-1). McClintock moved and Miller seconded the motion to approve of the resolution. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yes: 4 – Gordon, McClintock, Miller, & Pyter; No: 0; Abstain: 1 – Benevento.
- Fall Festival
McClintock questioned if the Village wished to have a Fall Festival given all the construction in the neighborhood. Construction on the curbs of the Village Circle area is expected to take place in mid-October. Council preferred to wait and see how construction was proceeding in September before making a decision on this.
Expenses
McClintock moved and Gordon seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditure:
$ 200.00 – Gudenkauf Corp – Water & gas line locating
$1,600.00 – Wilson, Phillips, & Agin – Audit Fees (1st installment)
$ 400.00 – Wilson, Phillips, & Agin – Audit Fees (2nd installment)
$ 660.00 – Radico, Inc. – Lift Station cleanout/inspection
The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items
There were no comments from residents.
Next Meeting Announcement
The next regular meeting will be Monday, September 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the Thomas Worthington High School.
Adjournment
There being no further business, McClintock moved and Miller seconded the motion to adjourn. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0). The meeting was adjourned at 9:04 p.m.
ERIC A. MACGILVRAY, MAYOR
JOSHUA C. MEHLING, CLERK OF COUNCIL