October 18, 2010 Council Meeting Minutes

Regular Council Meeting

October 18, 2010

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, Briggs W. Hamor, Eric A. MacGilvray and Kirk M. McHugh. Also present were Pamela M. Colwell, Clerk-Treasurer, Steven W. Mershon, Solicitor and Lois Yoakam, Newsletter Editor. Guests of Council were Scott Thompson and Bob Dalton. At 7:05 pm the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

1. The minutes of the regular Council meeting of September 20, 2010 were not read since each member had received a copy. Ankrom moved and McHugh seconded a motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

1. MacGilvray moved and Hamor seconded a motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial report for September 2010, as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).

Report of the Mayor

1. The Mayor reported that she received a nice thank you note from Ron Mills for supporting the SWACO rate increase.
2. She wanted Council to be aware that the Local Government Fund may be appropriated by the state and the Village could lose that source of revenue. OML and MORPC are fighting it. It is about $25,000 a year for the Village.
3. She thanked the Street Commissioner, Bill Charles, for all of his hard work in getting the streets resurfaced. They look very nice.
4. There is a Wildlife Meeting Nov. 16, 2010 if anyone is interested in attending.
5. The Thomas Worthington High School requested a donation for new turf for their football. Council declined because it was not a good use of public funds.
6. The Mayor has information about where to complain about cable TV service and she will see about getting this on the Village’s Web site.
7. Leaf collection was discussed with John Oberle. He said Sharon Township did not have the manpower to handle the Village’s leaves this year. The Mayor will ask next year for a quote from Sharon Township.
8. A tree came down and blocked Southington a couple of weeks ago. The Mayor spoke with the homeowners and was told it would be taken care of. The Street Commissioner was called and responded by having the tree removed because it was a public safety concern. The Village has not paid for tree removal in the past. Council said it is the responsibility of the homeowner to pay for tree removal and they asked the Clerk-Treasurer to send a letter to the resident to ask them to reimburse the Village. Sharon Township can be called and they will remove the tree from the street and bill the Village. The Village will then bill the resident. The Solicitor said if the tree was in the right-of-way, then it would be the Village’s responsibility. Trees should not be in the right-of-way and most are not.
9. Details about Halloween are in the Newsletter. Beggar’s night is October 31st this year.
10. A homeowner had difficulty getting a mortgage because our ordinance was not clear about side setbacks for rebuilding on the same footprint after a home is destroyed. The Solicitor said it could be and the Mayor signed a letter to this effect. The Mayor suggested that this was something that Council may want to look at and clarify.

Report of the Solicitor

1. The Solicitor reported that it was OK to offer an opt-in email for residents. However, the cost would be prohibitive to find out whether an official blog or other type of internet forum where residents post comments could be done by the Village, not including the cost of monitoring, liability and record keeping. He suggested if anyone is interested in that type of communicating that they do so on their own and not under the Village’s authority.
2. He responded to a request about disposing of personal property such as logo shirts and hats. The Village can use them, give them away or sell them.
3. The Village’s codified ordinances come up each year for updating. Large sections of the code, such as criminal and traffic, are probably not referred to since the police write under the State code. The cost to update the code each year is substantial because of the changes to all of the state laws, not just the Village’s ordinances. Council may want to look at this and decide if they want to maintain all of the sections of the code. The Clerk-Treasurer will look into different options and present them at the next meeting.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

1. There was no report. The Planning Commission did not meet in September.

Report of the Marshal

1. There was no report of the Marshal.

Report of the Street Commissioner

1. The Commissioner was on vacation but he emailed a report to Council saying the streets were completed except for some minor things and if anyone had any problems to please let him know.

Report of the Newsletter Editor

1. The Editor would like copy for the Newsletter by November 5th.
2. She is working on the directory and would like suggestions on what to include in it. Someone suggested a map of the streets.
3. She asked Hamor if he would write something about the safe streets to school for the Newsletter.

Report of the Web Manager

1. There was no report.
2. MacGilvray thought it would be a good idea to have the levy information on the home page of the web site. Everyone agreed. The Mayor will contact the Web Manager about it.

Report of Parks and Recreation

1. There was no report.

Report on Safe Routes to School Committee

1. Hamor reported that the Oct. 6 walking school bus went well. They had 20 kids participate. It has the potential to grow. He is trying to find out if there is enough interest to do weekly. Right now it is mornings only because of afternoon activities. Next week he will send out emails to get feedback.
2. Ankrom reported that he is approaching the sidewalk situation on High Street by contacting Dave Groth, Worthington Director of Public Service, and discussing it at length with him. Groth is going to look at it and do some investigating and then report back to Ankrom. Then the next step would be to meet with the City Manager and Lt. Mosic.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

1. There were no comments on agenda items.

Old Business

1. Planning Commission Violations 
   The Solicitor reported that the Pioneers Court resident responded and the matter is resolved. There was no response from the Dover Court or Riverglen residents. Council decided to discuss this matter at the next Council meeting since the Planning Commissioner was not present.

New Business

1. ORDINANCE NO. 03-2010
   McHugh introduced Ordinance No. 03-2010, Annual Appropriation Ordinance for its first reading. Hamor noticed the decrease between the budget and the appropriations. The Clerk-Treasurer explained that the budget is done mid year so most expenses are not known. The appropriations are done later so more is known about expenses. The appropriations govern spending and extra is added for some items to cover unexpected expenses and to keep from having to amend the ordinance frequently. We cannot spend more than what is appropriated. The appropriation ordinance has to be amended if more is needed for expenses.
2. Ravine Tree Work
   Pat Anderson was nice enough to get two estimates for tree maintenance in the ravine. Some trees are marked with an orange X for removal. Council noted the different options given on each estimate and it was determined that a Council member needed to see what these were so they could decide what to do. McHugh volunteered to have his tree expert go with him to review what needed to be done now and what could be done later.
3. Pharazyn Proposal
   McHugh moved and Hamor seconded a motion to accept Pharazyn’s proposal for maintenance of the ravine and circle as submitted. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).
4. Liability Insurance
   McHugh moved and Ankrom seconded a motion to stay with the current liability insurance provider through the Ohio Municipal League. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).
5. Police Contract
   There was no increase in the Worthington Police contract for 2011. However, there will probably be an increase in 2012. The Solicitor will provide a resolution at the next meeting.
6. Russell Tree Service
   McHugh moved and Griffith seconded a motion to authorize the expenditure of $480 to Russell Tree Experts for the removal of a tree blocking Southington Avenue. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).
7. Logo Clothing
   McHugh moved and Gordon seconded a motion to authorize the Mayor and Clerk-Treasurer to distribute the logo clothing without charge. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0). It was suggested to give them out as prizes at the July 4th picnic or other Village activities. Gordon suggested trying to sell them for $5 each first. Council agreed. The information will be put in the next newsletter.

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items

Next Meeting Announcement

Adjournment

MARY JO CUSACK, MAYOR

M. COLWELL, CLERK OF COUNCIL