Regular Council Meeting

January 16, 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, Chad A. Lowe, Kathy McClintock, Ted Miller, and Josh Schoenberger. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor, William P. Charles, Street Commissioner, Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, and Greg Bonk, Web Manager. Guests of Council were Mike Seal of Burgess & Niple and Jacalyn Slemmer. At 7:00 p.m. the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Council Member Sworn In

Kathy McClintock was sworn in to Council after being reelected by residents in November 2017.  Her term will be from January 2018 through December 2021.

Three Council Vacancies

With the expiration of terms for Marc Benevento, Josh Schoenberger, and Jacalyn Slemmer in December 2017, there were three vacancies on Council for terms beginning in January 2018. Those three former Council members, along with residents Ted Miller and Leah Pyter, applied for these open seats. All five expressed their desire for a position and qualifications.

Executive Session

McClintock moved and Gordon 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 – 3; Gordon, Lowe, and McClintock: No – None.  The motion was approved 3-0.  Council adjourned into Executive Session at 7:13 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 -, 3; Gordon, Lowe, and McClintock: No – None.  The motion was approved 3-0.

Council resumed Open Session at 7:47 p.m.

The Mayor appointed, with Council’s approval, Marc Benevento, Ted Miller, and Josh Schoenberger to fill the three vacant Council positions and they were sworn in for terms ending in December 2021. 

Election of President Pro Tempore

Gordon nominated Kathy McClintock as President Pro Tempore of Council for 2018 and Schoenberger seconded the motion. The motion was approved (6-0). The Solicitor swore McClintock in as President Pro Tempore.

Minutes

The minutes of the regular Council meeting of December 18, 2017 were not read since each member had received a copy. McClintock moved and Lowe seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea – 5; Benevento, Gordon, Lowe, McClintock, and Schoenberger, No – None, Abstain – 1; Miller.  The motion was approved 5-0-1.

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Lowe moved and Benevento seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for December 2017 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (6-0).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor reported that the new Village website was up and running and he thanked Schoenberger for his work on the project alongside Laura Oldham of Starburst Media. The Mayor pointed out that management of this new site would be more decentralized than that of the previous site. The Mayor and Clerk-Treasurer will have admin privileges alongside the Web Manager and the committee chairs will have the ability to edit their portions of the site.
  1. The Mayor mentioned that the Village portion of property taxes went down by 2.65 mills vs. the previous year, due to success in obtaining funding assistance with the infrastructure project. This is expected to decrease further in upcoming years.
  1. Mike Seal of Burgess & Niple addressed the Council on the status of the infrastructure project. They are planning on breaking ground the week of January 22. He also stated that Elite Excavating is looking for a place to store their equipment during their work. They would like to use the area at the end of Olentangy as well as the end of the north side of the ravine on Riverglen. Council members mentioned other options, which Seal will bring to Elite Excavating to discuss.
  1. The Mayor stated that he spoke with a representative from the Ohio State Airport about the Mayor or his designee attending meetings on behalf of the Village and there was no problem with this arrangement.
  1. The Mayor stated that there had been a report of hearing gunshots in the area of Rush Run Park, and the Worthington Police had questioned whether this area was their jurisdiction. The Mayor contacted the Worthington Chief of Police, who stated that the park belonged to the Columbus Parks Department, but that either city may respond to reports in the area. The Solicitor will follow up with the Worthington Police on this.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor reported that she was working on a Disclaimer and Terms of Use policy for the new Village website.
  1. The Solicitor stated that she was working on a credit card policy for the Village. The state Auditor recently issued a publication concerning the topic.
  1. The Solicitor stated that she spoke with a representative of American Legal Publishing about codifying ordinances and that the two had agreed that the Village should wait until the end of 2018 to do so, given that there are some potential ordinances to be discussed during the year.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner stated that there was a Lift Station cleanout scheduled that week.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

There was no report from the Planning Commissioner. The Mayor appointed Bryce Jacob to serve as the Planning Commissioner for 2018. Schoenberger moved to approve this appointment and Gordon seconded this motion. The motion carried (5-0). Miller was not in attendance at the time of this vote.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure 
  1. The Mayor appointed Marc Benevento to serve as the Chair of the Infrastructure Committee for 2018. Schoenberger moved to approve this appointment and Gordon seconded this motion. The motion carried (5-0). Miller was not in attendance at the time of this vote.
  1. The Chair of the committee stated that he had been working on the construction updates portion of the new website to keep residents informed of the status of the infrastructure project.
  1. The Chair of the committee questioned Council on their views of the Infrastructure Committee and how it is to be used going forward now that the project is entering a new phase. Members were asked to think about this and it will be discussed in the future.
  1. Committee on Communications 
  1. The Mayor appointed Josh Schoenberger to serve as the Chair of the Communications Committee for 2018. McClintock moved to approve this appointment and Lowe seconded this motion. The motion carried (5-0). Miller was not in attendance at the time of this vote.
  1. The Mayor appointed Scott Gordon to the Communications Committee.
  1. Resolution 2017-15

Resolution 2017-15, A Resolution Updating the Village of Riverlea 1993 Contract with Franklin County, Ohio for the Housing of Individuals Convicted of Violating Village Ordinances in the Franklin County Jail had its third reading. Gordon moved and McClintock seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (5-0). Miller was not in attendance at the time of this vote.

  1. Web Manager Position

Greg Bonk addressed the Council as to his desire and qualifications to serve as the Web Manager for the Village with the retirement of Jody Croley Jones at the end of the year. Bonk expressed ideas for how to enhance the functionality of the website and communications with residents in the future. The Mayor questioned Council as to whether they felt the Web Manager position was still needed for the Village. Council felt that especially given the communications needed around the infrastructure project, it was an important position to be filled. Greg Bonk was appointed to the Web Manager position via resolution 2018-04, as detailed below.

  1. Resolution 2018-04

Resolution 2018-04, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of Greg Bonk as Web Manager was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and Lowe seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to have the position filled in a timely basis. The motion carried (5-0). Schoenberger moved and Gordon seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (5-0). Miller was not in attendance at the time of these votes.

New Business

  1. Resolution 2018-01

Resolution 2018-01, A Resolution of Council for 2018 and to Provide for Certain Other Organizational Matters was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and McClintock seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to have the Council rules in place for the year. The motion carried (5-0). Lowe moved and McClintock seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (5-0). Miller was not in attendance at the time of these votes.

  1. Resolution 2018-02

Resolution 2018-02, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of William Charles as Street Commissioner was introduced by Schoenberger and had its first reading.

  1. Resolution 2018-03

Resolution 2018-03, A Resolution to Appoint Janet Brown as a Member of the Planning Commission was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and Schoenberger seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order fill the commission in a timely basis. The motion carried (5-0). Schoenberger moved and McClintock seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (5-0). Miller was not in attendance at the time of these votes.

Expenses

Slemmer moved and McClintock seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:

$300.00 – Fireproof – 2018 Record storage

$12.00 – Ohio EPA – 2018 Discharge fee

$795.00 – RACO – Biannual lift station maintenance

The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Miller was not in attendance at the time of this vote.

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents.

Next Meeting Announcement

The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, February 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Thomas Worthington High School.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Schoenberger moved and McClintock seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).  The meeting was adjourned at 9:19 p.m.

ERIC A. MACGILVRAY, MAYOR

JOSHUA C. MEHLING, CLERK OF COUNCIL