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, Emily J. Saving, and Suzanne K. Surface. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, Leah Reibel, Solicitor, Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, William Charles, Street Commissioner, and Greg Bonk, Web Manager. At 6:35 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting of February 18, 2025 were not read since each member had received a copy. Heidkamp moved and Bell seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 4, Bell, Heidkamp, Pyter, Saving; Nay: None; Abstain: 1, Amick. The motion carried (4-0-1). Surface was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote.

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Amick moved and Saving seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for February 2025 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). Surface was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote.

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor reported that the following day, he would be attending a meeting of the Franklin County District Advisory Council, made up of the Mayors of area municipalities.
  2. The Mayor reported that prep work for the Selby bridge project was underway. A new concrete pad has been installed on the south side of the bridge.
  3. The Mayor stated that he had received catch up reports on police activity within the Village from the Worthington Police Department. The department will begin distributing these to the Mayor monthly going forward. For 2025, the reports detailed that there had been 131 patrols and 3 calls from residents in January and 108 patrols and 3 calls from residents in February.
  4. The Mayor stated that he had followed up with the Worthington City Manager on the Deer task force. Worthington is proceeding with targeted removal of deer based on the task force’s recommendations. The Mayor informed Worthington that the Village may want to piggyback on these activities where applicable.
  5. The Mayor reminded Council members that there would be four Council seats up for election in November and that per new legislation from the State of Ohio, elections that occur without any declared candidates can trigger the need to put a dissolution vote on the ballot for residents.
  6. The Mayor reminded Council members that the Village would need to put two millage requests on the ballot for residents in November: one for the General Fund and one for the Infrastructure Fund. This agenda item would be discussed later in the meeting. He also stated that he would send a newsletter to residents when there is more information on these.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor stated that she had received a public records request on a police incident within the Village on New Year’s Eve. Worthington Police provided a ten-page redacted report to the requestor, and provided a copy to the Mayor.
  2. The Solicitor reported that she is working with the Planning Commission on revamping the Village zoning code. This will be an ongoing effort that will likely take several months.

Report of the Street Commissioner

The Street Commissioner stated that the Village had received notice from Gudenkauf Corp that they would be increasing their rates for utility locating from $55/hr to $175/hr starting immediately. He stated that he had asked Burgess and Niple for the mapping of these utilities within the Village and would mark these when needed. These maps are the same system that Gudenkauf uses.

Amick stated that he felt that the Village should have some way to recoup these costs from residents when this work is performed on their behalf. The Mayor stated that he felt this would be a safety issue and keeping this expense from residents encourages them to call when they plan on digging. Amick felt that this could be a liability for the Village if it takes over the marking work and Saving felt that the Village should not be adding additional responsibilities for the Street Commissioner.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

  1. The Planning Commissioner reported that the Commission had approved three Certificate of Appropriateness applications in the March meeting.
    1. Revisions to the application to expand the size of the garage at 248 Melbourne. This application had been denied at the February meeting and the applicant submitted revised plans with a lower height.
    2. An application to construct four retaining walls at 5719 Olentangy
    3. Revisions to the previously approved application to demolish the existing house and construct a new house at 5859 Olentangy

 

2. The Planning Commissioner reported that the Solicitor had attended the March meeting to discuss the potential changes to the Village zoning code. The Commission members shared their recommendations and the Solicitor will work with them to draft this new language.

The Solicitor said that the potential for regulating paint colors had been discussed at the meeting and that she had checked with the Ohio Municipal League and only three municipalities within the state regulate paint colors. The Planning Commissioner stated that he felt that the language of the zoning code could stand to be improved but did not want the scope of the changes to grow or the process could get out of control. The Solicitor said that she felt that regulating the landscaping within the Village, which was also discussed, could be construed as out of scope as well, but the Village may want to have a list of certain suggested and/or recommended types of plantings. The Mayor stated that he also felt that the zoning language could be cleaned up, but did not feel that it was the responsibility of the Village to dictate what people should do with their properties.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure

 

  1. Schlichting, the Chair of the Committee, reported the Committee had met in March and discussed the Village’s asset management plan. The Committee will present this plan to Council before it decides on the millage to request from residents. The Committee sees two main projects that the Village should be prepared for in the next 30 years. The first is the milling and resurfacing of the streets, the second is replacement of the lift station.
  2. The Chair of the Committee stated that he will contact the Worthington Fire Department about upcoming hydrant flushing so that the Village can communicate to residents to be prepared.
  3. Heidkamp questioned if all the leaves in the gutters throughout the Village could pose a problem in the storm sewers and the Chair of the Committee stated that previous inspections have shown that these leaves tend to flush through the system without causing any backups.

 

  1. Web Manager

 

  1. The Web Manager stated that the SSL certificate is now included in web hosting for the Village.
  2. Pyter enquired about the status of the document management within the Village. The Mayor stated that the Village needs to define a Retention Committee and meet to discuss this. The Solicitor stated that the Village already has a detailed Record Retention Policy, and recommended that all parties review the existing policy. Amick stated that this type of committee typically includes the Law Director, City Manager, Clerk, and two residents. Amick volunteered to be part of this group. The Mayor stated that he will review the current policy.

 

  1. Communications Committee

Pyter, the Chair of the Committee, stated that she is waiting for a follow-up from the Clerk-Treasurer on some questions on the new onboarding document.

  1. Resolution 2025-02

Resolution 2025-02, A Resolution to Confirm the Interim Appointment of William Charles as Street Commissioner had its third reading. Pyter moved to approve this resolution and Surface seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0).

New Business

General Fund Levy

The Mayor stated that the Village would need to put a levy on the ballot in November to fund the General Fund.  The Clerk-Treasurer presented some information on the Village’s financials and what may be needed in terms of a request from residents. He pointed out that the Village’s tax base had increased by 60% from the last time a levy was on the ballot in 2020, which would affect the millage request.

The Mayor laid out the timeline for the process, in which the Council will need to approve resolutions to request confirmation from the Franklin County Auditor’s office on what revenue can be expected from a given millage rate and after this confirmation, an ordinance to request that the Franklin County Board of Elections put this issue on the ballot. This ordinance needs to be submitted no later than 90 days before the November election. Council’s plan is to approve the ordinance for the ballot measure at the June meeting, as there is no meeting scheduled for July.

Expenses

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

$3,773.00 – Assured Partners – 2025 Insurance installment

$   288.75 – Gudenkauf Corp – Water & gas line locating

$   250.00 – Sedgwick – 2025 BWC administration

The motion was approved (6-0).

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 April 21, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Worthington Library.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Amick moved and Bell seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (6-0). The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Daniel E. Schlichting, Mayor