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 E. Schlichting, Jeffrey Amick, Janet Heidkamp, Emily J. Saving, and Suzanne Surface. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, Leah Reibel, Solicitor, and William Charles, Street Commissioner. Guests of council were residents Jeff Mussman and Kent Shimeall. At 6:33 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting of June 17, 2024 were not read since each member had received a copy. Heidkamp moved and Saving seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 3, Amick, Heidkamp, Saving, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (4-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Amick moved and Saving seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for June 2024 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (4-0).

Saving moved and Surface seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for July 2024 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (4-0).

Report of the Mayor

 

  1. The Mayor stated that Worthington Director of Service and Engineering John Moorehead had confirmed that the construction on the Selby bridge will not begin until spring 2025. Worthington will keep the temporary road constructed at the end of Melbourne Pl closed until then and maintain the area. This road will only be open during active construction on the bridge.

2. The Mayor stated that he had signed a contract for the crack sealing in the streets. This project will seal all cracks in the streets of 1/8 in or larger.

3. The Mayor noted that there will be mosquito spraying in the Village due to the presence of West Nile virus in local traps. The Mayor stated that he had emailed notice of this spraying to residents but asked Council if they felt that it would be helpful to also use street signs for additional notification. After some discussion, Council decided that three signs should be used to cover the entrances to the Village. Amick moved to authorize the expenditure of not more than $300 to purchase three signs that will be used for this purpose and Saving seconded this motion. The motion carried (4-0).

4. The Mayor noted that with the resignation of Nic Bartels from Village Council, there is currently an opening. There should be applications from multiple candidates for Council to review at the September meeting.

5. The Mayor stated that the repainting work had yet to begin on the entrance sign on Olentangy. Surface explained that she had reviewed the entrance signs on Riverglen & Southington and that the posts that the light fixtures are on for each are rotting. She recommends replacing these posts with unstained cedar posts at a cost of about $500 each with copper endcaps that would cost about $50 each using volunteer labor. These costs would be more if the Village decides to replace the flags at the entrances as well. Surface moved to authorize the expenditure of up to $1,500 for repairs and replacement on these entrance signs and Saving seconded the motion. The motion carried (4-0).

6. The Mayor mentioned that there is a new requirement from the State of Ohio requiring officials to watch a 15 minute presentation on fraud prevention. The Solicitor stated that it would be easiest for record keeping and attestation purposes for members to watch the presentation at the September Council meeting.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor stated that the Worthington Deer task force will hold a public meeting on August 22 to discuss options for controlling the deer population in the area.

2. The Solicitor noted that an appeal of a Planning Commission decision was on the agenda and reminded Council that they would only be deciding whether or not to hear the appeal at the meeting and not deciding on the merits of the appeal. She reviewed the section of the Riverlea Code of Ordinances that deals with Planning Commission appeals.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner noted that one of the manhole cover castings had broken and fallen into the hole along Melbourne. There is currently a board over the hole and cones surrounding it and the Street Commissioner is working on getting this repaired.
  2. The Street Commissioner stated that the new build at 5691 is still underway with work on the sanitary sewer. He stated that he is concerned about a deep pit on the south side of the house that will likely require an ejector pit. The Planning Commissioner stated that the residents are planning on moving into the house in October.
  3. Saving asked the Street Commissioner if the venting had been changed on the lift station. The Mayor stated that he had added a timer to the venting that operates about 3:00 to 3:30 AM to ensure that it cause the least amount of disturbance. The Street Commissioner also recommended that a methane detector be added.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

  1. The Planning Commissioner stated that there had been two cases tabled at the July meeting that had been tabled pending further review of variance requests. One of these cases at 5826 Westchester was revised to lower the requested fence height from 6 ft to 4 ft and was approved at the August meeting. The other case at 121 W Southington was reviewed and denied at the August meeting by a vote of 3-2.
  2. The Planning Commissioner stated that a case had been tabled at the August meeting pending review of the neighboring houses and their proximity to the lot line. The plans call for a variance request as the planned porch addition will extend into the 35 ft. buffer zone as called for by the Riverlea Code.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on current agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure

Schlichting, the Chair of the Committee, reported that the Committee had reviewed the quotes received for CCTV review of the stormwater system. The last time this system was reviewed was in 2012. The lowest and best quote was from Duke’s and was in the amount of $25K, which was lower than the next lowest bid by about $8K. In the event that additional services are needed as part of this project, they will charge the Village at an hourly rate. The Committee continues to review whether to scope the force main line as well.

Saving moved to authorize the Mayor to sign the contract from Duke’s and Heidkamp seconded the motion. The motion carried (4-0). Work is expected to take place in the late summer to fall of this year.

  1. Web Manager

The Web Manager was not in attendance.

  1. Communications Committee

The Chair of the Committee was not in attendance. The Mayor said that Council would discuss the Chair’s questions on the purpose of the Committee when the Chair is back in attendance.

New Business

  1. Notice of Intent to Appeal

As discussed in the Planning Commission section of the minutes, the Planning Commission had voted to deny a variance application for a six-foot fence at 121 W Southington Ave. The homeowner, Kent Shimeall, had filed a Notice of Intent to Appeal to Council in response to this decision. The Mayor reminded Council that the purpose of the discussion at the current meeting was to decide whether or not to hear the appeal, not to decide the merits of the appeal. Shimeall inquired as to the role of the Council in deciding whether or not to hear the appeal.

The Solicitor pointed out section 151.044 D of the ordinances, which specifies that if all neighboring lot owners have submitted written consent, then the restrictions around fence height do not apply, which would negate the need for a variance application. She asked the Planning Commissioner if this affected the decision of the Planning Commission and he responded that he was not aware of this section of the code. The Solicitor informed Council that their options would be to elect to hear the appeal, to refuse to hear the appeal, or to table the discussion pending an update from the Planning Commission after they have taken this section of the code into consideration. Shimeall raised the possibility of filing a motion for Council to remand the decision back to the Planning Commission. Amick suggested that the Planning Commission be notified that the Council does not feel that a variance is needed and that it should be reconsidered in this light.

Amick moved and Surface seconded the motion to approve the hearing of this appeal with the caveat that the Planning Commission would be reviewing new data and this may alter their decision, in which case the applicant may remove the request for appeal. The motion carried (4-0).

  1. Burning Yard Waste

Surface stated that she had received a complaint about people burning yard waste and inquired whether there were any ordinances against this. The Solicitor said that she would research the issue.

Expenses

Heidkamp moved and Saving seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:

– $ 221.52 – Annette Haines – 4th of July reimbursement

– $ 244.74 – Kim Bahr – Entrance flowers/maintenance

The motion was approved (4-0).

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, September 16, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Worthington Library.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Amick moved and Saving seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (4-0). The meeting was adjourned at 7:44 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Daniel E. Schlichting, Mayor