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 E. Schlichting, Jeffrey Amick, Charles Bell, Janet Heidkamp, Leah M. Pyter, and Emily J. Saving. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, Leah Reibel, Solicitor, and Greg Bonk, Web Manager. Guest of Council was resident Jeff Mussman. At 6:33 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting of November 18, 2024 were not read since each member had received a copy. Saving moved and Heidkamp 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, Pyter, Saving; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Amick moved and Bell seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for November 2024 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 5, Amick, Bell, Heidkamp, Pyter, Saving; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-0).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor reminded Council that the Village’s Luminaries event would be held on the evening of Friday, December 20, with a rain date of Sunday, December 22. He stated that he would send an email to residents with details.
  2. The Mayor reported that the Ohio legislature is working on a bill that would add a fourth method of dissolving a village, in addition to the existing three methods. This method would require that a village provide five of nine possible services and also that all elected positions have at least one person running for the position in each election. The bill has currently passed the Ohio House of Representatives, but has yet to pass the Senate. If Riverlea were to dissolve, it would revert to Sharon Township.
  3. Council member Charles Bell thanked Mayor Schlichting for his work in repairing the entrance signs along High Street.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor stated that she had prepared a resolution for the Village to contract with Worthington for police services again in 2025. This will be addressed later in the meeting.
  2. The Solicitor stated that she had spoken with Worthington Law Director Tom Lindsey on the Deer Task Force. The task force will share their recommendations with Worthington City Council at the December meeting. The Solicitor mentioned that there had been a question on whether Riverlea has ordinances on hunting deer within the Village and that the code does prohibit this hunting.
  3. The Solicitor stated that she had asked representatives of Sharon Township about sweeping the streets and was informed that this was no longer possible as the township’s vehicles had switched to snow removal equipment.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner was not in attendance and the Mayor reported in his place. The Mayor reported that there had been an inspection and cleanout of the stormwater collection unit on December 13 and that this went well. The Village should conduct this cleanout twice annually to prevent buildup. Pyter asked if the Village has a maintenance calendar and the Mayor replied that the Infrastructure Committee has an asset management calendar and recommends that this be added to that calendar.
  2. Heidkamp inquired as to whether the Village has a succession plan for the Street Commissioner position. The Mayor stated that there is not a current plan, but that Bill Charles and the Infrastructure Committee are documenting the job duties and timelines and have an ongoing list of infrastructure resource and service contacts. The Mayor reminded Council that contracting with an outside company would be considerably more expensive than the current situation.
  3. The Mayor reported that the Village is waiting on Radico to replace the storm drain cover at Melbourne & Dover. This should be completed by the end of December.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

  1. The Planning Commissioner stated that the Commission had reviewed an application for an addition at 248 Melbourne. The Commission tabled the application pending updated plans and a variance application.
  2. The Planning Commissioner stated that the Commission is reviewing the ordinances around fence requirements for the Village. Commission members are concerned that residents can bypass the Village’s variance requirements, especially concerning fence heights, by receiving signatures from neighbors. Members are reviewing the code and will discuss suggestions at the January meeting.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on current agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure
  1. Schlichting, the Chair of the Committee, reported that they had met in December. Members have not heard of any issues from residents on the street sealing that had been recently completed.
  2. The Chair of the Committee reported that members reviewed the findings of the CCTV storm sewer line inspection. There are no immediate issues that need to be dealt with. There were a total of six smaller issues, dealing with cracking, sediment buildup, etc. The Committee made recommendations on how to deal with these.
  3. The Chair of the Committee stated that they had reviewed the asset management plan. There is nothing scheduled for 2025; the Committee is working on plans for long-term funding of the maintenance plan.
  4. The Chair of the Committee reported that the entrance signs along High Street had been replaced. The new posts may need to be treated to prevent rot.

 

  1. Web Manager

 

  1. The Web Manager stated that he is working on rolling the Village website forward to 2025, including updating the meeting schedules.
  2. The Web Manager reported that he is working with Google and Microsoft on hosting Village services, including ensuring that the Village is in compliance with Sunshine laws. The Solicitor stated that she will review what other similar municipalities are using for their hosting.

 

  1. Communications Committee

Pyter, the Chair of the Committee, stated that she is continuing to work with Councilmember Saving on an onboarding guide for new Council members. They will submit a version of their work so far to current Council members and the Solicitor for recommendations on changes and/or additions.

  1. Ordinance 03-2024

Ordinance 03-2024 – 2025 Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village) had its third reading. Pyter moved to accept the ordinance and Bell seconded the motion. The motion was approved (6-0).

New Business

  1. Resolution 2024-12

Resolution 2024-12, A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor of the Village of Riverlea, Ohio to Contract with the City of Worthington, Ohio and the Worthington Police Department to Provide Police Services in the Village was introduced by Ament. The proposed contract contains a 3.5% increase over 2024 rates and estimates 22 hours of coverage provided weekly to the Village.

Bell inquired as to whether the Village is receiving reports of police activity within the Village as stated in the contract. The Mayor replied that the Village had not been receiving these so earlier in the year, he contacted the department to get these reports and he is now receiving reports detailing activity in the Worthington area. He stated that he also no longer receives reports from the Fire Department of dispatches to the Village as he had in the past. Through discussion, it was the sense of Council that the Mayor should receive regular reports of activity within the Village from the Police & Fire Departments. Ament suggested that the Mayor request a regular list of all calls for requests including the incident number within the Village.

Ament moved to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to sign the agreement with the City of Worthington in a timely manner and Heidkamp seconded the motion. The motion was approved (5-0).Heidkamp moved to accept the resolution and Saving seconded the motion. The motion was approved (5-0).

  1. Ordinance 04-2024

Ordinance 04-2024 – An Ordinance to Approve a Modification and Realignment of Ordinance 02-2023, the Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village), and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Pyter. Pyter moved to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to submit this information to Franklin County in a timely manner and Bell seconded the motion. The motion was approved (5-0).Saving moved to accept the resolution and Heidkamp seconded the motion. The motion was approved (5-0).

  1. New Resident Information

Saving stated that the Planning Committee suggested that new residents should be given information on Village resources and requirements. Another suggestion from the Committee was a directory of Village residents with businesses or services to offer residents so that residents are aware. The Clerk-Treasurer will add this to the January agenda

  1. Levy Renewals

The Clerk-Treasurer reminded Council members that the general fund and infrastructure maintenance levies are due to expire in 2025 and will need to be on the ballot in November. Ballot language proposals must be submitted to the Franklin County Board of Elections by August.

Expenses

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

$305.00 – Ohio Municipal League – 2025 Dues

$550.00 – American Legal Publishing – 2025 hosting fees

$891.15 – Dan Schlichting – Entrance sign repairs

$349.21 – Greg Bonk – 2025 web hosting

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 Tuesday January 21, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Worthington Library.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Bell moved and Saving seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (-0). The meeting was adjourned at 8:13 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Daniel E. Schlichting, Mayor