July 20, 2009 Council Meeting Minutes

VILLAGE OF RIVERLEA
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
JULY 20, 2009

The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at the Worthington United Methodist Church, 600 High Street, Worthington. The following Council members were present: Mayor Mary Jo Cusack, John S. McAlearney, John A. Schaer, Renee Shannon, Rodney Tettenhorst and Paul J. Zenisek. Kirk McHugh was absent. Also present were Pamela M. Colwell, Clerk-Treasurer, Steven W. Mershon, Solicitor, William Charles, Street Commissioner, Lois Yoakam, Newsletter Editor, Jody Croley Jones, Web Manager, Michael Jones, Planning Commissioner, Don Campbell, Betty Campbell Joel Mazza, Nicole Mazza, Bob Ranck and Sue Ranck. Burgess & Niple engineers, Jim Dippel and Louis McFarland were also present. At 7:05 pm the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

1. The minutes of the regular Council meeting of June 15, 2009 were not read since each member had received a copy. Tettenhorst moved and Schaer seconded a motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 5; McAlearney, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 5-0.

Clerk-Treasurer Report

1. Schaer moved and Tettenhorst seconded a motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial report for June 2009, as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 5; McAlearney, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 5-0. See Board Referral File number 09-012

Report of the Mayor

1. The Mayor reported that the FFA has approved the OSU Airport maps and are going ahead as they have planned. The south runway is closed for renovations and residents may notice the increased traffic noise for the north runway.
2. The reports from the Worthington Police still lack sufficient detail and she asked Council if she should contact Lt. Dougherty about this again. Some members of Council want the Mayor to try again. The Mayor also said Lt. Dougherty suggested that Council consider painting lines on the road in front of the stop signs.
3. The Mayor has been sending letters to realtors regarding signs not in compliance and she usually does not send a copy of it to the homeowner. She asked if Council agreed with this and most members of Council did
4. The historic walking tour of Riverlea will be October 3, 2009.
5. The July 4th picnic went really well and she had a long list of those to thank for its success.
6. The address she assigned to Erlanger’s property is 147 West Southington Avenue.
7. She attended the Mayor’s Conference. It was suggested that a group of municipalities may have a better chance of attracting stimulus money than going it alone.

Report of the Solicitor

1. The Solicitor discussed the letter Council received from a resident regarding a sign. He will be sending a copy of the minutes to the resident in response.
2. Regarding the Blanchard residence, considering all of the discussions, permit discrepancies, etc., there appears to have been work completed that was not included in the Certificate of Appropriateness and is not “uncompleted” work. The Solicitor will work with the Planning Commissioner to contact Blanchard to rectify the problems.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

1. The Planning Commissioner reported there were three applications for Certificates of Appropriateness at the July 13th meeting. Two were approved and one partial approval for the driveway only. However, the work on the driveway has proceeded without the Certificate of Appropriateness and street bond requirement.
2. Jody Jones expressed the concerns of the Planning Commission. In order to make it easier on themselves, they are asking for clarification on who is responsible for making the decision of whether a Certificate of Appropriateness or Variance is needed. They felt the Planning Commissioner should be the one person responsible. There was some discussion regarding this. Council questioned the need for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) for exterior paint and re-roofing. J. Jones said it was required by code. The Solicitor disagreed with her stating that the code section that she is referring to allows the Planning Commission to approve exterior colors only when a Certificate of Appropriateness is otherwise required due to an exterior modification of the type designated in the Code. McAlearney asked if exterior color was a problem and there were differing opinions regarding that issue. The Mayor suggested residents who used a color from a palette of approved colors would not require a COA but if the color was not on the palette then a COA was needed. Some members of Council agreed with this. The Planning Commissioner agreed to come up with a palette of acceptable colors for Council to approve. The Solicitor stated he believes the Code needs to be amended to require this approval. Most members of Council agreed to have the Planning Commissioner as the one who made the determination of the necessity of a Certificate of Appropriateness or Variance.

Report of the Marshal

Report of the Street Commissioner

1. The Commissioner provided information for a flow monitor for the lift station. He will need the help from a contractor for installation. His estimate of the cost is about $5,000 for the system and approximately $1,500/year for monitoring. He will get a quote for the next Council meeting.
2. He spoke with the City of Columbus and the Village’s water lines were installed in 1925 and are cast iron. Since 1987 there have been 5 major line breaks. The Village needs to look seriously at replacing the major water lines before the streets are rebuilt. In fact, the street construction alone may cause more water line failures.

Report of Burgess & Niple

1. Dipple and McFarland discussed the possible need to replace the infrastructure and complete street rebuild or interim repairs. A full rebuild of the streets may be around $3 million and the infrastructure replacement about $2 million.
2. The Sanitary Sewer Evaluation Study (“SSES”) and Emergency Response Plan have to be done first. The EPA must have the reports by August 11, 2009. The EPA will comment on the reports and then the Village will have six months to implement after the EPA comments.
3. McFarland will focus on the underground issues. Catch basins and storm sewers are considered in the rebuild. The streets will be done last. They may recommend interim maintenance such as slurry seal.
4. The Street Commissioner and Dippel will contact Worthington regarding their plan for sewer upgrades. They believe it might be ten years out before Worthington’s sewer system south of the Village will be upgraded, which may allow the removal of the lift station. So the lift station needs to be maintained in the meantime.
5. There was discussion regarding the need for cleaning and video taping of the sanitary sewers to know their condition. The storm sewers will need to be video taped too. At the street commissioner’s suggestion, the timing for this work was advanced in the proposed SSES schedule.
6. Dippel pointed out that the Village needs to talk to the Worthington Police regarding the Sanitary Sewer Emergency Response Plan. They are listed as the second contact after the Street Commissioner. The Mayor said she will speak with Lt. Dougherty about this.

Report of the Newsletter Editor

1. The Editor would like copy for the newsletter by August 5.
2. She asked if the Street Commissioner would write a report for the Newsletter covering all of the infrastructure and street issues and he said he would.

Report of the Web Manager

1. The Web Manager reported she will have the SSES and ERP on the Web site.
2. She will also have some informative information for residents to help educate them about the Village laws and procedures.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

1. Joel Mazza spoke about his and other residents’ reaction to the Newsletter when neighbors are named in it for problems. He said it felt unfriendly and looked negatively on the community. He was concerned that the level of reasonableness was falling and the Planning Commission was being too literal in their interpretation of the law. Many of their decisions reflected their personal preferences, which he did not really agree with. Making homeowners get approval for colors and roofs stifled creativity. A palette of colors was not a good idea and it reminded him of Muirfield where everything is beige. He questioned the decisions of a Planning Commission that has 40% of their vote from one household. He felt we do not need a regulation for everything.
2. Sue Ranck thanked Pam Colwell for maintaining the flowers at the front entrances. She also expressed her concern about solar panels and the possibility of trees being removed for them.

Old Business

1. Ordinance No. 04-2009 –
   Ordinance No. 04-2009, An Ordinance to Revise Certain Timing and Other Requirements for the Consideration of Applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness was read by title for the third reading. Tettenhorst moved to amend Ordinance 04-2009, section 151.072 Appeals (B) and (C) per the printed ordinance distributed to Council. Zenisek seconded the motion. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 5; McAlearney, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 5-0. The amendments were read and there was no discussion. Schaer moved and Zenisek seconded a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 04-2009 as amended. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 5; McAlearney, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 5-0.
2. Ordinance No. 05-2009 –
   Ordinance No. 05-2009, An Ordinance to Revise Certain Timing Requirements for the Consideration of Applications for a Variance was read by title for the third reading. Tettenhorst moved and Shannon seconded the motion to adopt Ordinance No. 05-2009. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 5; McAlearney, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 5-0. /li>

New Business

1. Mosquito Contract – The Franklin County Board of Health submitted a mosquito contract for 2009. The Mayor said they did not do anything last year. There was some discussion about what to do about mosquito control but nothing was decided. Tettenhorst moved to have the Mayor reject the contract. Shannon seconded the motion. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 4; McAlearney, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None: Abstain, 1; Schaer. The Motion carried 4-0-1.
2. Approval of Bills – The Mayors Association annual fee is $40 and the cost of two logo t-shirts and a logo hat is $30. The printing of 1000 envelopes for the Village’s letterhead is $180. The tree limb removal cost is $275. Schaer moved and Tettenhorst seconded a motion to approve the expenditures above. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 5; McAlearney, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 5-0.
3. Digital Voice Recorder – The Clerk-Treasurer researched digital voice recorders and decided the Olympus DS-50 would be the best choice. It will be used to record the Planning Commission and Council meetings. Tettenhorst moved and Shannon seconded a motion to approve the expenditure of up to $180 for the digital voice recorder and flash drives. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 5; McAlearney, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 5-0.
4. Resolution No. 2009-11 –
   Resolution No. 2009-11, A Resolution Approving Submission of a Sanitary Sewer Overflow Emergency Response Plan was introduced by Shannon. Zenisek moved to suspend the three readings and Tettenhorst seconded the motion. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 5; McAlearney, Schaer, Shannon, and Tettenhorst: Nay, None. The Motion carried 5-0. Tettenhorst moved and Schaer seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2009-11. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 5; McAlearney, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 5-0.
5. Resolution No. 2009-12 –
   Resolution No. 2009-12, A Resolution Approving Submission of a Sanitary Sewer Evaluation Study Schedule was introduced by Shannon. Zenisek moved to suspend the three readings and Schaer seconded the motion. Tettenhorst moved and Schaer seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2009-12. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 5; McAlearney, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 5-0.

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items

Next Meeting

Adjournment

MARY JO CUSACK, MAYOR

DAN E. OWENS, CLERK OF COUNCIL