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 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, L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor, William P. Charles, Street Commissioner, and Gregory Bonk, Web Manager. Guest of Council was Worthington Chief of Police Robert Ware. At 7:00 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Worthington Chief of Police

Incoming Chief of Police for the City of Worthington Robert Ware introduced himself to Council and discussed his history and outlook on the position. Chief Ware stated that the transition of city emergency dispatch services to the Northwest Regional Emergency Communications Center is on track. Fire dispatching services are due to be migrated on July 5 and police dispatching services on September 8. The transition is expected to improve response times, especially for emergency calls initiated from cell phones.

Minutes

The minutes of the regular Council meeting of January 21, 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: 4, Gordon, McClintock, Miller, and Schlichting; Nay: None; Abstain: 2, Benevento, Pyter. The motion carried (4-0-2).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

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

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor reminded Council that with the expiration of the current operating levy, the Village will need to place a new operating levy on the ballot in the fall of 2020. The operating levy is the main source of revenue for the Village, and pays for services such as police protection, trash and snow removal, and street and park maintenance. Council will need to decide what millage rate to propose for this levy. The infrastructure committee has discussed the possibility of using the levy to save for anticipated infrastructure maintenance expenses, and these expenses will be a factor in setting the proposed millage rate.
  2. The Mayor stated that there had been an incident involving a dog being shocked by an electric fence within the Village. Village code prohibits these types of fences. The Solicitor drafted a letter reminding the homeowner of this Ordinance and the Planning Commissioner delivered it to the homeowner.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor mentioned that there had been an issue with parking on the walkway of a home within the Village. The Planning Commissioner will speak with the homeowner and decide if a Notice of Violation will be needed.
  2. The Solicitor announced that the Ohio Municipal Attorneys Association would be offering Sunshine Law training on March 6 if Council members are interested in attending. The Solicitor also noted that attendance at an Open Records Law training is required for public officials in Ohio, including Village Council members.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner reported that he had received confirmation from AEP that they would be repairing the street light in the ravine that is out.
  2. The Street Commissioner stated that he and Jim Dippel of Burgess & Niple were scheduled to meet at the lift station to discuss plans for future work, including the potential addition of a generator.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

There was no Planning Commission meeting in February

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 is waiting on estimates for the cleaning and repair of the lift station.

 

  1. The Chair of the Committee noted that there was icing in the gutters in several places throughout the Village, most notably on the north side of the Circle Park.
  2. The Chair of the Committee noted that there is an opening for a Village resident on the Committee and that residents should contact a Committee member if interested. The Chair of the Committee mentioned that Burgess & Niple would be monitoring the growth of the grass seed planted in yards again in the spring. The grass is warrantied through June.

 

  1. Committee on Communications

Gordon, the Chair of the Committee, reported that the Committee was continuing to review the production of a Village directory and taking requests from residents to update or exclude their contact information.

  1. Web Manager

The Web Manager mentioned that he had received an email archive from departing Council member Chad Lowe, and reminded Council that the Village should archive these emails per policy. Council discussed having Dan Noonan in attendance at the March meeting to review the policy on email archiving. The Mayor stated that he would schedule a meeting of the Retention Committee.

  1. Ordinance 01-2020

Ordinance 01-2020, An Ordinance to Amend the Village of Riverlea Zoning Code, to Regulate the Installation of Solar Panels had its second reading.

  1. Resolution 2020-02

Resolution 2020-02, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of William Charles as Street Commissioner had its second reading.

Expenses

There were no expenses to approve.

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, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Thomas Worthington High School.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Miller moved and McClintock seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).  The meeting was adjourned at 7:48 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Eric A. MacGilvray, Mayor