The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at Thomas Worthington High School. The following Council members were present: Mayor Eric A. MacGilvray, Nicholas Bartels, Scott K. Gordon, Janet Heidkamp, Leah M. Pyter, Emily Saving, and Dan B. Schlichting. Also present were Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer Gregory Bonk, Web Manager, and L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor. Guest of Council was Steven Orenchuk. At 7:02 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Swearing In

Janet Heidkamp, Leah Pyter, and Emily Saving were sworn in by the Solicitor as members of Council after being elected by residents in November 2021.  Their terms will run from January 2022 through December 2025.

New Council Member

Three of the four Council terms expiring at the end of December 2021 were filled in the November election, leaving one open seat. Village resident Nicholas Bartels was in attendance to be considered for this position and discussed his interest in the position, and his qualifications.

The Mayor appointed Nicholas Bartels to fill the vacant position on Council. Gordon moved and Pyter seconded the motion to approve the appointment. The motion passed (5-0). Bartels was sworn in by the Solicitor for a term ending in December 2025.

Election of President Pro Tempore

Pyter nominated Dan Schlichting as President Pro Tempore of Council for 2022 and Gordon seconded the motion. The motion was approved (6-0). The Solicitor swore Schlichting in as President Pro Tempore.

Resolution 2022-01

Resolution 2022-01, A Resolution of Council for 2022 and to Provide for Certain Other Organizational Matters was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to have the Council rules in place for the beginning of the year. The motion carried (6-0). Schlichting moved and Saving seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (6-0).

Resolution 2022-02

Resolution 2022-02, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of Steven Orenchuk as Street Commissioner, for a term to begin on April 1, 2022,  was introduced by Schlichting and had its first reading.

Resolution 2022-03

Resolution 2022-03, A Resolution to Appoint Jennifer Zipfel, and Re-appoint Rich Skowronski as Members of the Planning Commission was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and Bartels seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to have the Planning Commission in place in a timely manner. The motion carried (6-0). Pyter moved and Bartels seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (6-0).

Planning Commissioner

The Mayor appointed Bryce Jacob as Planning Commissioner for 2022.

Resolution 2022-04

Resolution 2022-04, A Resolution to Reauthorize the Infrastructure Committee to Support the Work of Village Council and to Appoint Members Thereto, and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Pyter. The Mayor mentioned that with the expiration of Marc Benevento’s term on Council, there is an open slot on the Committee for a Council member. Saving volunteered to serve on this Committee. With this appointment, the Committee will consist of Council member Dan Schlichting, Chair, Ex Officio Member Street Commissioner William P. Charles, Greg Ross, Steven Orenchuk, and Emily Saving. Schlichting, the Chair of the Committee, stated that he is waiting to hear confirmation on whether Scott Flores will serve on the Committee again.

Pyter moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to have the Infrastructure Commission in place in a timely manner. The motion carried (6-0). Pyter moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (6-0).

Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting of December 20, 2021 were not read since each member had received a copy. Gordon moved and Schlichting seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 3, Gordon, Pyter, and Schlichting; Nay: None; Abstain: Bartels, Heidkamp, and Saving. The motion carried (3-0-3).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Saving moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for December 2021 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (6–0).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor commented on the number of new members of Council and Committees throughout Village government and felt that this reflected positively on resident involvement within the Village. He encouraged the new members to find areas of interest where they can work to serve the Village.
  2. The Mayor stated that per Council’s decision in December the Village had declined the SCIP award for sanitary sewer system improvements that had been approved at a balance of 100% loan funding. The Village will now apply for the Small Government Program, which offers a mix of loans and grants. This led to a discussion of the Lift Station and the condition of the force main that runs along the southern border of the Village. Gordon reminded Council that the Village had previously discussed the use of eminent domain to connect the sanitary system directly into that of Worthington by running it through Rush Run Park. Orenchuk stated that he would be against such a plan. The Mayor stated that the Infrastructure Committee and Council would continue to discuss these matters.
  3. The Mayor stated that a representative from COTA would be in attendance at the February Council meeting to discuss their new LinkUS program.
  4. The Mayor noted the passing of resident Riley Potter the previous week and expressed condolences to the Potter family.

Report of the Solicitor

The Solicitor noted that since the destruction of the kiosk at Beverly and Dover in January of 2015, the Village has been posting notices at the remaining four kiosks throughout the Village. Per statute, the Village is required to post these notices in five locations, if there is no paper of record in which to post them. It is believed that Street Commissioner William Charles is in possession of the damaged kiosk. The Village will look into restoring it for future postings.

Report of the Street Commissioner

The Street Commissioner was not in attendance. In his place, the Mayor read his report:

  1. Repairs were made in December to the hydrant that had been out of operation at the end of Beverly.
  2. The Street Commissioner is in possession of a No Parking sign to place on Crescent. He will install it in the spring when the ground is thawed.
  3. The Street Commissioner will purchase two spare pumps for the Lift Station.
  4. The Street Commissioner has scheduled a cleanout of the Lift Station for March.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

The Planning Commissioner was not in attendance. The Clerk-Treasurer reported that the Committee had met in January and approved a modification to plans to build a screened-in porch at 212 West Riverglen and a fence at 288 Frontenac.

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, reiterated from the conversation earlier in the meeting that the largest remaining items for the Committee are the relining of the sanitary sewer and uncertainty surrounding the future of the force main. If there are issues with the main or the Lift Station, there are dangers of wastewater spilling into the Olentangy River.
  2. Schlichting stated that the Village is waiting to hear back on its request for ARPA funding for the relining and Lift Station projects. This would consist of about 80% grants and 20% loans. The Committee had expected to receive word on this request back in October 2021.
  3. Schlichting stated that the deadline for the Village to apply for funding from the Small Government Program is mid-February and the Village will submit its application by then.
  4. Schlichting stated that he & Benevento had recently met with the Surveyor the Village contracted with to review the location of the force main on the southern edge of the Village. Ideally, the pipe will be found to fall within the 2-3-foot easement along the border. Columbia Gas is unable to install the gas line for the generator until this line has been located and the easement marked. Schlichting stated that the surveyors had recently marked the easement and that Benevento would be contacting Columbia Gas to schedule the gas line installation soon. Orenchuk inquired as to whether the EPA had given the Village a deadline to install the gas line for a generator for the Lift Station and Schlichting replied that the Village had received no such deadline.

 

  1. Web Manager

 

  1. The Web Manager stated that he would work to set the new members of Council up with their needed levels of access and update the Village web site correspondingly.
  2. The Web Manager stated that he is working with the new resident volunteer to finalize the directory and it will be ready soon.
  3. There are currently 28 houses without updated information for the directory. Gordon stated that he will contact the residents at these houses to get their information and Heidkamp volunteered to assist with this effort.
  4. The Solicitor reminded the Web Manager that the website needs to be updated with recent resolutions and ordinances. The Clerk-Treasurer will also work with American Legal Publishing to codify the ordinances adopted since the last codification.

 

  1. Nuisance Committee

Pyter reminded Council that the Nuisance committee had touched on a couple of issues including deer control, animal control and hunting within the Village. The Solicitor will work with Pyter to review the Village ordinances and discuss possible changes.

New Business

  1. Resolution 2022-05

Resolution 2022-05 – A 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 (Village) was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to submit the resolution to the Franklin County Auditor in a timely manner. The motion carried (6-0). Saving moved and Bartels seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (6-0)

Expenses

Schlichting moved and Bartels seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:

$    165.00 – Gudenkauf Corp – Water & gas line locating

$    163.80 – Ted Miller – Kiosk repairs

$    299.43 – Josh Mehling – Supplies & postage

$    700.00 – Sharon Township Board of Trustees – Street sweeping

$    768.34 – Franklin County Emergency Management – 2022 Proportionate share

$    321.00 – Vital Records Control – 2022 Records storage

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 Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. at Thomas Worthington High School.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Pyter moved and Saving seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).  The meeting was adjourned at 8:13 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Eric A. MacGilvray, Mayor