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 Schlichting, Jeffrey L. Amick, Charles T. Bell, Janet R. Heidkamp, Leah M. Pyter, and Emily J. Saving. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, Leah Reibel, Solicitor, William Charles, Street Commissioner, and Greg Bonk, Web Manager. At 6:33 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting of May 19, 2025 were not read since each member had received a copy. Amick moved and Saving seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 4, Amick, Bell, Heidkamp, Saving; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (4-0). Pyter was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Bell moved and Saving seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for May 2025 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 4, Amick, Bell, Heidkamp, Saving; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (4-0). Pyter was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote.

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor stated that he had sent a short newsletter to residents with updates on some items of relevance, including the Selby Bridge project, millage updates, and upcoming July 4th celebration, among others. Bell asked what percentage of Village residents are covered by this email and the Mayor stated that the distribution list is about 300 email addresses, covering 86% of residents.
  2. The Mayor updated Council on the Selby Bridge project. Paving is underway on the north lane of the bridge and the traffic will continue to be controlled with a temporary signal. The Mayor noted that he had noticed complaints on the Village Facebook page around excessive traffic throughout the Village. These were likely coinciding with two days during the project when the bridge was totally shut down and all traffic was diverted through the Village.
  3. The Mayor stated that he had received the May report on Worthington Fire activity within the Village. There were 0 runs in the Village during the month.
  4. The Mayor stated that he had received the May report on Worthington Police activity within the Village. There were 172 runs and two traffic complaints, likely related to the Selby Bridge shutdown. There was also 1 parking violation and 2 suspicious person calls.
  5. The Mayor stated that he is working on the final contract with the affected resident on reimbursement for lack of downspout drain installation during the infrastructure project and this should be complete soon.
  6. The Mayor reported that there is no update on the discussions with the City of Worthington on the re-lining of the sewer line that covers both municipalities.
  7. Saving inquired if there is any update on the Worthington Deer Task Force and the Mayor stated that he had not received any official updates, but that he had heard that the project may use the woods in Rush Run Park as a culling site.

Report of the Solicitor

The Solicitor reported that she continues to work with the Planning Commission on revisions to the fence ordinances. She stated that she had reviewed the zoning ordinances for several area municipalities for comparison purposes and had spoken with the Dublin Planning Commission on what they felt were the pros and cons of their language.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner reported that he is working to get the Village up to date on EPA reporting, which includes the stormwater report. The Solicitor will work with him to get an extension for the Village on the SSO reports.
  2. The Street Commissioner is working with the Infrastructure Committee to develop a priority list of supplies for the Lift Station, including which parts to keep on hand for use in the event of an emergency.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

The Planning Commissioner was not in attendance. The Clerk-Treasurer noted that the commission had held a special meeting on May 22 to rescind their previous decision on the fence application at 276 W Southington and approve the fence at the rear of the yard.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure

Schlichting, the Chair of the Committee, reported that the Committee had not met in June.

  1. Web Manager

 

  1. The Web Manager stated that he had performed basic security updates.
  2. The Web Manager noted that the website had recently been receiving an influx of comments on posts from bots. These do not show up on the actual pages due to work by the moderator.
  3. Bell suggested that the Village get someone to help with digitizing the collected paper records held by the Village.

 

  1. Communications Committee

Pyter, the Chair of the Committee, stated that she had submitted a PDF of the proposed onboarding guide for new Councilmembers to the Mayor for review.

  1. Record Retention

The Records Retention Committee did not meet in May.

  1. Ordinance 01-2025

Ordinance 01 – 2025 – An Ordinance Determining to Levy a Replacement and Decreased Tax in Excess of the Ten Mill Limitation had its third reading. Saving moved and Heidkamp seconded the motion to approve the ordinance. The motion carried (5-0).

  1. Ordinance 02-2025

Ordinance 02 – 2025 – An Ordinance Determining to Levy a Replacement and Decreased Tax in Excess of the Ten Mill Limitation for the Purpose of the Construction, Reconstruction, Resurfacing, or Repair of Streets, Roads, and Bridges, and General Infrastructure Projects in the Village of Riverlea, Ohio had its third reading. Amick moved and Saving seconded the motion to approve the ordinance. The motion carried (5-0).

New Business

  1. Resolution 2025-07

Resolution 2025 – 07 – A Resolution to Request the Franklin County Budget Commission to Grant the 0.65 in Inside Mills in Available Inside Millage to the Village of Riverlea, Ohio was introduced by Pyter. Pyter moved and Heidkamp seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution to submit the resolution to the Franklin County Auditor in a timely manner. The motion carried (5-0). Saving moved and Pyter seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (5-0).

  1. 2026 Tax Budget

The Village Tax Budget for 2026 was introduced by Pyter. Pyter moved and Heidkamp seconded the motion to approve of the budget. The motion passed (5-0).

  1. Tree Removal

The Mayor presented a quote that the Village received from Kevin Masters Arborist Services in the amount of $915.84 for the removal of two crabapple trees in Circle Park that are mostly dead. This quote includes the removal of the trees and grinding of the stumps. Pyter moved and Saving seconded the motion to accept this quote and authorize the removal of these trees.  The motion passed (5-0).

Amick stated that when the Village replaces the trees, Council should select replacements that are established and have height, rather than saplings. Bell suggested that the Village use the company that they worked with for the tree replacement program after the infrastructure work. Amick stated that he will look into this.

Expenses

Bell moved and Amick seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditure:

$407.50 – Gudenkauf Corp – Water & gas line locating

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 Monday August 18, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Sharon Township Meeting Hall.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Pyter moved and Bell seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). The meeting was adjourned at 8:04 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Daniel E. Schlichting, Mayor