The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date via Zoom teleconference software. The following Council members were present: Mayor Eric A. MacGilvray, Marc J. Benevento, Scott K. Gordon, Kathy E. McClintock, Ted C. Miller, Leah M. Pyter, and Dan Schlichting. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor, and William P. Charles, Street Commissioner. At 7:01 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting of April 20, 2020 were not read since each member had received a copy. Schlichting moved and McClintock seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 5, Benevento, Gordon, McClintock, Pyter, and Schlichting; Nay: None; Abstain: 1, Miller. The motion carried (5-0-1).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

McClintock moved and Benevento seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for April 2020 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (6-0).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor announced that there would be a parade for Village graduating seniors, 5th graders, and 8th graders on May 23. The organizers of this parade would also like to plant an ornamental tree with a small plaque in the Circle Park to honor the graduates. The cost of the tree would be covered by voluntary donations. There were questions about the precedent this would set, but Council agreed that the situation with COVID made these unusual and extenuating circumstances. Gordon moved to allow the planting of a small ornamental tree and addition of a small plaque in the park and Pyter seconded the motion. The motion carried (6-0)
  2. The Mayor announced that Worthington had cancelled the Memorial Day parade for 2020 due to restrictions on gatherings.
  3. The Mayor stated that Burgess & Niple had been out to examine the lawns in the Village on April 22 and had noted 45 lawns that would need additional grass seed planted. They will work with the contractor to schedule this reseeding. Five of the homeowners opted out of this reseeding.
  4. The Mayor stated that a resident had mentioned that the flags at the Village entrances on High Street may need to be replaced. He will examine them and possibly bring this to Council for approval in June.
  5. The Mayor mentioned that he had heard from two residents about possibly putting temporary above ground pools in their yards this summer in light of the public pool closures. He also mentioned that the ordinance concerning pools in the Village code needed to be cleaned up, as it includes a reference to a section in the code that does not exist. The Solicitor will review the code. Miller moved to allow the installation of above ground pools in residents’ yards with the following restrictions: the pools must be in the back yard, the Village ordinances concerning fencing for pools must be followed, and this is only for the summer of 2020. Schlichting seconded the motion. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 5, Benevento, McClintock, Miller, Pyter, and Schlichting; Nay: 1, Gordon; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-1).
  6. The Mayor stated that he had received a question from a resident about the installation of playground equipment in the Circle Park. Council had questions about the liability issues and upkeep involved with the addition of a playground and chose not to pursue this issue at this time.
  7. The Mayor raised a question about when Council should resume in person meetings. A major issue with this is that the High School is the typical meeting place for Council and it is currently unknown when schools will reopen. Council decided to continue meeting remotely until further notice.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor stated that she had worked on the issue of the electric fence at the residence on Olentangy and that this would be discussed during the report of the Planning Commissioner.
  2. The Solicitor stated that she expected the residents who suffered water damage from the sanitary sewer backup to sign and return their release form shortly.
  3. In light of the swimming pool discussion, the Solicitor stated that she would draft a Swimming Pool Ordinance for the next Council meeting.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner reported that the Village had received a proposal from Burgess & Niple for $59K to perform an inspection of the sanitary sewer system. This proposal breaks down as $22k in Burgess & Niple professional fees and $37k in labor and materials. The last sanitary sewer inspection was in 2010 and the system is due for an inspection. Benevento moved to approve this proposal from Burgess & Niple and Schlichting seconded the motion. The motion carried (6-0).
  2. The Street Commissioner noted that the lift station had recently been cleaned out, as had the new storm water quality unit.
  3. The Street Commissioner stated that he had reviewed the possible sites for the placement of a generator at the lift station and had decided that the best site appears to be to the east of the building. This site works best for minimizing visibility and sound to the adjacent residence.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

  1. The Planning Commissioner reported that he had sent a certified letter to the homeowners with the electric fence on their property and had received a response, but that there had been no movement toward the removal or reactivation of the fence. The Commissioner stated that if the Village does not see movement toward this in a couple of days, he would contact the Worthington Police to issue a ticket to the homeowners.
  2. The Planning Commissioner stated that the commission approved four COA applications in May. These included the addition of fences at 5848 Falmouth, 267 Frontenac, and 5778 Crescent, as well as an addition at 35 Riverglen.
  3. The Planning Commissioner reported that Fairfax Builders had closed on the lot for sale on Southington and is expected to build a new home on that site.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on agenda items.

Old Business

 

  1. Committee on Infrastructure
  1. Benevento, the Chair of the Committee stated that the committee had met to discuss several issues:

 

    1. The sanitary sewer inspection proposal by Burgess & Niple.
    2. The remaining items on the infrastructure punch list, including reseeding of lawns and some concrete work, mostly repairs to cracked gutter pans.
    3. Drainage issues throughout the Village. Burgess & Niple will check the grading in the areas known to be problems. The Chair also suggested that the Village should encourage homeowners to maintain the gutter pans in front of their houses, which may help to minimize these drainage issues.
  1. The Chair noted that there appeared to be a sinkhole forming at the corner of Olentangy and Southington. Burgess & Niple is investigating this issue.

 

  1. The Chair noted that Burgess & Niple is revising the asset management plan for the Village to make it more user friendly.

 

  1. Committee on Communications

Gordon, the Chair of the Committee, stated that he and the Web Manager had discussed the Village resident directory and it should be ready to print soon.

  1. Web Manager

The Web Manager was not in attendance.

New Business

  1. Ordinance 02-2020

Ordinance 02-2020, An Ordinance to Approve a Modification and Realignment of Ordinance 03-2019, the Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village), and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Pyter. Pyter moved and McClintock seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the ordinance in order to submit this modification to Franklin County in a timely manner. The motion passed (6-0). Pyter moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to approve the ordinance. The motion passed (6-0).

Expenses

Gordon moved and McClintock seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:

– $4.24 – Bryce Jacob – Postage

– $108.28 – Josh Mehling – Supplies & Postage

– $750.03 – Franklin County EM & HS – 2020 Proportionate Share

The motion was approved unanimously (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, June 15 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom teleconference.

Adjournment

There being no further business, McClintock moved and Miller seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).  The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Eric A. MacGilvray, Mayor