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, Janet R. Heidkamp, Leah M. Pyter, Emily J. Saving, and Suzanne K. Surface. Also present were Leah Reibel, Solicitor and William Charles, Street Commissioner. Guest of Council was Jeff Mussman. At 6:30 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the regular Council meeting of August 18, 2025 and the special Council meetings of July 7, 23, and 29 and August 4 and 5, 2025 were not read since each member had received a copy. Amick moved and Heidkamp 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, Heidkamp, Saving, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: 1, Pyter. The motion carried (4-0-1).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Heidkamp moved and Surface seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for August 2025 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 4, Amick, Heidkamp, Pyter, Saving, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-0).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor reported that the Selby Bridge project is complete and traffic is now open in both directions. The temporary road at the end of Melbourne should no longer be needed and will be removed. Columbia Gas has begun work to remove the pressure regulator that had been installed. Once this is complete, work will begin on the removal of the gravel for the road and restoration of the grass surface, as well as installation of the new sidewalk between Melbourne and Selby.
  2. The Mayor stated that he had received the August report on Worthington Fire activity and that there had been four EMS runs during the month.
  3. The Mayor stated that he had received the August report on Worthington Police activity within the Village. There were 136 runs, a complaint about a paving vehicle leaking oil, a suspicious metal box located in Rush Run Park, and a call to check on a resident.
  4. The Mayor reported that the state legislature had recently passed regulations surrounding cybersecurity. Riverlea should have minimal exposure to these threats compared to that of larger municipalities. As part of these new regulations, Riverlea will be required to adopt legislation detailing a cybersecurity policy by July 1, 2026. The Mayor volunteered to draft a first version of a policy for review. Surface stated that it would be helpful to review Worthington’s policy, as Riverlea contracts with the City for several services. The Mayor replied that larger cities, such as Worthington, are required to have their policies in place by January 1, 2026, so this should be available for review.

Report of the Solicitor

The Solicitor stated that she is waiting for an updated draft from the Planning Commission on the updates to the zoning code around fence ordinances. One concern is that the Dublin code only permits four-foot fences and most other municipalities allow six-foot fences as well. Amick asked if the draft could be made available to the public so they can submit their informed feedback at a public hearing before it is adopted. The Solicitor recommended that Council members attend a Planning Commission meeting at some point to hear the thoughts of the members.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner reported that the Lift Station had been cleaned out at the end of August.
  2. The Street Commissioner reported that he had completed the documentation for the work to connect the new drain line at 131 W Southington. This documentation includes maps of the locations of the lines and connections.
  3. The Street Commissioner stated that he had investigated purchasing new pumps for the Lift station. He estimates the cost will be about $4,500 for two new pumps. Amick asked if the Street Commissioner was interested in purchasing these and he replied that the Village currently has two pumps on hand and should purchase replacements when these are installed.
  4. The Mayor reported that Caleb Smith will be meeting with the City of Columbus to update the City on projects that Burgess and Niple had completed with smaller municipalities such as Riverlea, to ensure that they have the most updated information.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

The Planning Commissioner was not in attendance. The Mayor reported that the Planning Commissioner had informed him that there had been a noise complaint during the month, concerning a cement truck that showed up at 4:15 am to begin work. The Planning Commissioner notified the contractor of the ordinance around permitted hours for commercial noise in the Village.

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 September and is planning on meeting in October to develop a list of items to have on hand.

  1. Web Manager

The Web Manager was not in attendance

  1. Communications Committee

There was no report from the Chair of the Communications Committee. The Solicitor recommended that the Communications Committee work to inform the Village residents of the proposed fence ordinance revisions in advance of public meetings when they are available.

  1. Record Retention

The Records Retention Committee did not meet and will set a new meeting date.

  1. Tree Maintenance

Saving stated that she had received quotes from Davey Tree Service and Kevin Masters Arborists for work to maintain the trees in the Circle Park. Both quotes are in the $4,000 – $5,000 range, per year. The Mayor stated that he or Saving will distribute the quotes to Council members to determine if there is interest in pursuing this maintenance.

The companies informed the Village that the trees are showing stress consistent with the drought this summer and that the Village would need to install a watering system to properly maintain the trees at full health. The Street Commissioner mentioned that there is a water line to the Circle that could be used if desired, though there is no electric line running to the Circle currently. Amick suggested that a line could be run underground from the pole in his back yard.

The Mayor reported that he had contacted Peabody Landscape Group about potentially setting up a tree replacement program for Village residents. Peabody is working on a price list for trees they may recommend for residents. The Mayor mentioned that when the previous program was implemented in 2019, orders were due from residents by August 1, so he was unsure if it was too late to implement such a program for this year. Pyter suggested that Council wait to see what Peabody suggests, to determine if there is still time to collect orders and successfully plant these before deciding whether to pursue the program for this year or wait until next year.

New Business

  1. Resolution 2025-18

Resolution 2025-18 – Resolution Accepting the Amounts and Rates as Determined by the Budget Commission and Authorizing the Necessary Tax Levies and Certifying them to the County Auditor was introduced by Pyter and had its first reading. Pyter moved to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to submit it to the County in a timely manner and Surface seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). Amick moved to approve the resolution and Heidkamp seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0).

Expenses

There were no expenses to approve for the month.

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 October 20, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Worthington Library.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Pyter moved and Heidkamp seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). The meeting was adjourned at 7:41 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Daniel E. Schlichting, Mayor