November 21, 2011 Council Meeting Minutes

Regular Council Meeting

November 21, 2011

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, Donald E. Griffith, Briggs W. Hamor, Eric A. MacGilvray and Kirk M. McHugh, President Pro-Tem. Scott K. Gordon was absent. Also present were Pamela M. Colwell, Clerk-Treasurer, Steven W. Mershon, Solicitor, Lois Yoakam, Newsletter Editor, Karen McElmurray, Marshal and William P. Charles, Street Commissioner. Guests of Council were Greg Bonk, Brandi Whetstone with MORPC, Frank Pharazyn with Pharazyn Landscaping and Andrew Cramer with Rustic Lawncare. At 7:00 pm the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Annexation

1. Annexation with Worthington failed in Riverlea and passed in Worthington. Riverlea will not be annexed.

Olentangy Watershed

1. Brandi Whetstone with MORPC discussed the Balanced Growth Planning in the Olentangy Watershed. Twenty-seven communities are involved with this planning partnership. The final plan is located on the website balancegrowthplanning.morpc.org. Basically this looks at how land use affects water quality. The Village does not have any priority areas designated. However MORPC would like a resolution of support from the Village in order to get the State to endorse the Growth Plan. A model resolution was presented prior to the meeting.
2. MacGilvray stated that some residents are concerned about possible development along the river behind their residences and our Solicitor has suggested some alternate language that is more specific. He asked if the alternate language in the Village’s resolution (see Resolution 2011-13 below) was acceptable and Whetstone said it was.

Minutes

1. The minutes of the regular Council meeting of October17, 2011 were not read since each member had received a copy. Ankrom moved and Hamor seconded a motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

1. Griffith moved and MacGilvray seconded a motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial report for October 2011, as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).

Report of the Mayor

1. The Mayor reported that the Halloween party was a big success and thanked Jon Ankrom, Jody Jones, Mike Jones and Pat Anderson for their help. The traditional hotdogs and apple cider were served. There were about 165 people who participated and the cost was only $103. The Mayor made a point of how the traditions are important to the Village and the Marshal stated that her grown daughter has fond memories of these as she was growing up in Riverlea. The Mayor hoped that Council will consider this in the future before making any changes to these activities.
2. She has the original Riverlea marker and asked Council where they would like to put it. Council agreed that the circle would be the best place. Frank Pharazyn with Pharazyn Landscaping quickly volunteered to install the sign for free with Andrew Cramer (Rustic Lawncare) volunteering if Pharazyn failed to do it. The Mayor thanked both of them.

Report of the Solicitor

1. The Solicitor said he will have comments to make later on during the meeting.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

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

Report of the Marshal

1. The Marshal reported there were 234 checks with no warnings or citations issued.
2. She wanted to draw residents’ attention to an incident that recently happened to her. A bat flew into their house and died in the room where a grandchild slept. The Health Dept. was contacted and they could not verify whether the bat had rabies or had bitten the child, so it was considered an exposure and her grandson is being treated for rabies as a precaution. Rabies is fatal and no chances should be taken. She just wanted to alert residents to this.

Report of the Street Commissioner

1. The Commissioner reported that the last of the slurry seal was done and the 2010 project is completed.

Report of the Newsletter Editor

1. The Editor would like copy for the Newsletter by December 5th. She is trying to include something each month about new neighbors. She is also asking Council to make regular contributions.

Report of the Web Manager

1. There was no report.

Report of Parks and Recreation

1. There was no report.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

1. There were no comments on agenda items.

Old Business

1. Resolution No. 04-2011 Ordinance No. 04-2011, Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village) for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2012. The Ordinance was read by title for the second reading. MacGilvray moved to amend Ordinance 04-2011 by changing the word “expected” in Section 3 to “expended” and Ankrom seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).

New Business

1. Expenses
   MacGilvray moved and Hamor seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:
   $238.04 Burgess & Niple invoice.
   $300 American Legal Publishing internet code of ordinances
   $40 Auditor of State – Clerk-Treasurer GASB 54 training
   $285 Ohio Municipal League membership dues for 2012
   The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
2. Resolution No. 2011-11
   MacGilvray introduced Resolution No. 2011-11, A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Enter into a Contract with the City of Columbus for Legal Representation in Certain Criminal and Traffic Cases. The Resolution was read by title for the first reading. The Solicitor pointed out that only a half hour of Columbus City Attorney time was used by the Village in the last 20 years. Their billing is changing to a flat fee basis rather than an hourly basis. Due to the Village’s low usage, the amount will not be considerable and it is far less expensive than he could do.
3. Village Telephone
   The Clerk-Treasurer reported that the Village has maintained a telephone number so that people would be able look up the number in the phone book. Now with internet access fewer people receive a phone book or use a phone number to contact the Village. The telephone is in the Mayor’s home and it is around $50 per month. She asked if Council wanted to continue with it. McHugh said he did not really want another phone line in his home. The Mayor only receives a few calls per month but she felt it was still necessary to maintain. Greg Bonk suggested using Google Voice instead because it was free. The current phone number could be ported to Google Voice. Council agreed that it was a good idea and the Clerk-Treasurer will look into it.
4. Landscaping Bids
   Two landscaping bids were submitted to Council prior to this meeting. Frank Pharazyn with Pharazyn Landscaping submitted a bid and thanked Council for using his services over the past 12 years. The second bid was submitted by Andrew Cramer with Rustic Lawncare. He grew up in the area and does the VFW Memorial Hall nearby and would like to get back into this area. He also offers snow removal.

   Council reviewed both bids. Rustic Lawncare cost was a little lower but not substantially. Council said they were satisfied with Pharazyn but Rustic’s work was unknown. Ankrom moved and Hamor seconded the motion to stay with Pharazyn Landscaping and accept their quote. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).

5. Resolution No. 2011-12
   Hamor introduced Resolution No. 2011-12, A Resolution to Provide Legal Counsel for the Village of Riverlea. The Solicitor said that Council is free to wait until after the new Mayor and Council members are appointed before voting on this contract. Council noted that they wanted to continue his services and did not feel it was necessary to wait. McHugh moved and MacGilvray seconded the motion to suspend the three readings of Resolution No. 2011-12. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). McHugh moved and Griffith seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2011-12. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
6. Resolution No. 2011-13
   Ankrom introduced Resolution No. 2011-13, A Resolution of Support for the Olentangy Watershed Balanced Growth Plan with the alternate wording in Section 1, The Village of Riverlea supports the balanced growth plan and designated priority areas for the Olentangy Watershed and shall make best faith efforts to implement applicable recommendations of the balanced growth plan, but only in accordance with the determination of the legislative authority of the Village that such recommendations are consistent with the wishes of, and promote the bests interests of, its own residents. MacGilvray moved and Ankrom seconded the motion to suspend the three readings of Resolution No. 2011-13. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). MacGilvray moved and Griffith seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2011-13. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
7. Block Watch
   There was some discussion about the Block Watch program that Worthington’s Police Chief discussed at the September Council meeting. Council felt that the residents needed to be involved, not Council, and they needed to identify what the Village’s needs in that area were. It was decided to wait until the February Council meeting to ask interested residents to attend and discuss this.
8. Future Appointments
   McHugh said he would like all appointments to be open to everyone. He wanted residents to feel they were part of the process. It did not mean that those who held the appointments now would not be re-appointed. It just would allow others to come forward so the Council would know that they were considering the best qualified individuals for the job.

   Ankrom volunteered to write an article concerning this for the Newsletter in order to let the residents know what these positions are. The Solicitor and Clerk-Treasurer will assist him with this.

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items

Next Meeting Announcement

Adjournment

MARY JO CUSACK, MAYOR

M. COLWELL, CLERK OF COUNCIL