Regular Council Meeting

July 18, 2011

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 Mary Jo Cusack, Jon L. Ankrom, Scott K. Gordon, Donald E. Griffith, and Briggs W. Hamor. Eric A. MacGilvray and Kirk M. McHugh were not present. Also present were Pamela M. Colwell, Clerk-Treasurer, Steven W. Mershon, Solicitor, William P. Charles, Street Commissioner, Lois Yoakam, Newsletter Editor, and Karen McElmurray, Marshal. At 7:05 p.m. the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

  1. The minutes of the regular Council meeting of June 20, 2011 were not read since each member had received a copy. Ankrom moved and Hamor seconded a motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (4-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

  1. Hamor moved and Gordon seconded a motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial report for June 2011, as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (4-0).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor handed out the SWACO summary plan update literature to Council.
  2. The Mayor reported that the July 4th picnic was a big success. She thanked Jon Ankrom for the use of his grill and for helping to set up the tables and chairs, Jody and Mike Jones for grilling the hotdogs and for everyone who helped out.
  3. The builder of the new home on Crescent Court has been contacted again regarding issues with runoff into the storm sewers. The Village has an EPA permit that does not allow this. She had observed him using a hose to wash the mud down the storm drain. When she spoke with him about this he was not cooperative. The Mayor said she thought the Solicitor’s suggestion that residents try to get a picture of the violations was a good idea.
  4. The owners of the vacant home at Southington and Olentangy with overgrown weeds and grass received a letter from the Solicitor and have now cleaned up the yard.
  5. The spotlight at the entrance at Southington needs to be replaced as well as the light at Riverglen. The Clerk-Treasurer reported they were cheap to begin with and no longer work. She suggested buying a better light and Council agreed. Gordon moved and Ankrom seconded the motion to authorize the expenditure of up to $60 for two lights. The motion was approved unanimously (4-0).
  6. The Mayor noted that a commercial was made in the Village. She only wished they had given the Worthington Police and Village officials the courtesy of notifying them of this beforehand in case there were questions or complaints by residents.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor had no report but would comment where necessary throughout the meeting.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

  1. The Clerk gave the report for the Planning Commissioner. There was one Certificate of Appropriateness application for 223 Southington Avenue that was tabled because the applicants wanted to look at other design options.

Report of the Marshal

  1. The Marshal reported there were 217 checks with no citations or warnings.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Commissioner reported he is still waiting for Radico to install the pumps and clean out the lift station, which should be done by the end of July.
  2. He will be getting a quote from American Pavements to slurry seal the recently repaired areas of the street.

Report of the Newsletter Editor

  1. The Editor said she would like copy for the Newsletter by August 5.

Report of the Web Manager

  1. There was no report.

Report of Parks and Recreation

  1. There was no report.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

  1. There were no comments on agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Resolution 2011-06
    Resolution 2011-06, A Resolution Reauthorizing an Agreement Between the Village of Riverlea and the Board of County Commissioners, Franklin County, Ohio, In Order to Participate in the Franklin County, Ohio, Department of Housing and Urban Development Entitlement Program and Abide by the Covenants of that Program State Herein. The resolution was read by title for the second reading. There was no discussion.

New Business

  1. Expenses
    Gordon moved and Griffith seconded the motion to authorize the reimbursement to Jody Jones, Web Manager, for the biannual website fee of $197.15. The motion was approved unanimously (4-0).
  2. SWACO Resolutions
    Council decided to not discuss the SWACO plan update since two Council members were absent.
  3. Mosquito Spraying
    The Mayor asked if Council wanted the Village sprayed for mosquitos. Gordon asked if spraying was proven to work. Council did not think it did and decided to not spray for now.

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items

There were no comments on non-agenda items

 

Worthington Annexation

Gordon gave an update on the annexation negotiations. They were in agreement on just about everything but how to enforce the conditions of annexation. Worthington did not want to be open to future lawsuits and they are currently working on a resolution to this.

There was also the issue of using the balance of the funds available at year-end (approximately $350,000) to replace the lift station. If it is too costly or other issues keep the lift station from being replaced, Worthington wants to use the money at their discretion for Riverlea infrastructure.

Worthington has agreed to provide insurance coverage to protect Riverlea officials after the annexation in case of any lawsuits where the Village will no longer be there to defend them.

Council said they will have another forum to discuss the conditions of annexation after residents receive them. They understand that residents want to know the difference in what Worthington proposes for the street and curb repairs and what the Village is considering and if we remain an independent Village what are we facing in the future.

In order to get the conditions of annexation on the November ballot, we need to get a resolution to the Board of Elections by August 10th. That will require at least one special meeting and the required 5 votes to suspend the 3 readings and declare an emergency. Or there can be three special meetings for the three readings of the resolution. Council agreed to have a special meeting on August 1, 2011 at the Thomas Worthington High School at 7:00 pm.

 

Next Meeting Announcement

The next regular meeting will be Monday, August 15, 2011 at 7:00 pm at the Thomas Worthington High School.

 

Adjournment

There being no further business, Gordon moved and Griffith seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion was approved unanimously (4-0). The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 pm.

 

MARY JO CUSACK, MAYOR

M. COLWELL, CLERK OF COUNCIL