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 E. Schlichting. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer Gregory Bonk, Web Manager, and L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor. Guests of Council were Steven Orenchuk and Joshua Roth of COTA. At 7:05 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.
COTA LinkUP Plan
Joshua Roth, Economic Development Manager at COTA, addressed Council concerning the organization’s plan for regional development in the coming years. This plan, known as LinkUP, will focus on eight primary corridors throughout the Columbus metropolitan area. The COTA steering committee is currently working on these plans and will release a report in the next few months. COTA is looking for support for this plan from area municipalities and will be requesting a Resolution of Support from the Village. COTA will approach the Village with more information on this request in May.
Minutes
The minutes of the Council meeting of January 18, 2022 were not read since each member had received a copy. Pyter 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. The motion carried (6-0).
Report of the Clerk-Treasurer
Schlichting moved and Bartels seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for January 2022 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (6-0).
Report of the Mayor
- The Mayor noted that the Infrastructure Committee had discussed getting a legal opinion on the construction easement for eventual replacement of the Lift Station. The Mayor is awaiting a response on this subject from an area law firm.
- The Mayor stated that he had reached out to Worthington about replacing the Southington sign at High & Southington that was knocked down in an accident a few years ago. He was told that it will be replaced in a few weeks.
- The Mayor stated that Ohio has reauthorized municipalities to hold their public meetings electronically through June 30. Council decided to hold the March meeting in person as planned and to decide on a monthly basis whether to hold any future meetings electronically.
Report of the Solicitor
- The Solicitor stated that a representative from Code Enforcement with the City of Worthington spoke with the resident on High Street who had placed a sign about violin lessons along High Street. He informed them that these signs are not permitted in the right of way and the resident moved the sign.
- The Solicitor stated that she sent a second letter of warning to owners of an RV on Beverly concerning having the vehicle parked in the driveway. The RV has since been moved.
- Gordon inquired as to the reason that the Village needed to post public notices in five places. The Solicitor replied that Ohio Revised Code 731.25 requires notices be posted either in the newspaper of record or in five of the most public locations in the Village. Gordon asked whether the Village website could be considered one of these five locations and the Solicitor stated that she would look into this.
Report of the Street Commissioner
The Street Commissioner was not in attendance. In his place, the Mayor read his report:
- The Street Commissioner responded to a high level alarm at the Lift Station. Due to recent rains, the inflow was more than one pump could handle, but with two pumps, it was able to process the inflow.
- The Street Commissioner had purchased two backup pumps for the Lift Station and submitted an invoice to the Clerk-Treasurer for these.
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 an outdoor living area in the backyard at 5849 Olentangy.
Comments from Residents on Agenda Items
There were no comments from residents on agenda items.
Old Business
- Committee on Infrastructure
- Schlichting, the Chair of the Committee, stated that the gas line had been installed at the Lift Station, just outside the right of way that was marked by the surveyors. Marc Benevento, former Chair of the Committee, is reaching out to Columbia Gas to discuss why the line was placed outside the right of way.
- Schlichting reported that he and the Mayor had met with the surveyor who reviewed the southern edge of the Village to determine where the easements are for planning purposes.
- Schlichting stated that he plans to obtain the kiosk that was removed from the corner of Beverly & Dover after being knocked down in an accident. The kiosk itself is in good shape, but the legs will need to be replaced, so he is researching how to do that.
- Schlichting reported that the Village had not yet received a response on its request for ARPA funding for infrastructure.
- Schlichting reported that the deadline for the Village to file for sanitary sewer relining funding assistance from the Small Government Program is February 25. He also stated that as this program is scored against other requests according to a point system, the Village would have the ability to gain additional points by pledging to contribute additional funds toward the project. Gordon moved to authorize the Village to contribute an additional $30,335 toward the project, which would allow the application to gain an additional two points. Bartels seconded the motion.
Pyter moved to amend the above motion to increase the amount of pledged funds to $58,250, which would allow the application to gain an additional three points. Schlichting seconded this motion. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 5, Bartels, Heidkamp, Pyter, Saving, and Schlichting; Nay: 1, Gordon; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-1).
Schlichting moved to amend the above motion to change the pledge to 21% of total project costs, rather than the dollar amount stated in the previous amendment. This is expected to remain at about the same dollar figure but allows for minor variations in the calculation to get the desired three points. Gordon seconded this motion. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 5, Bartels, Heidkamp, Pyter, Saving, and Schlichting; Nay: 1, Gordon; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-1).
The following vote was recorded on the motion with additional amendments: Yea: 6, Bartels, Gordon, Heidkamp, Pyter, Saving, and Schlichting; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (6-0).
- Web Manager
The Web Manager stated that he had updated the website and email accounts for the new Council members sworn in in January.
- Communications Committee
Gordon, the Chair of the Committee, reported that there are about 40 residences that still need to be updated for the Village directory. He stated that he would go door to door to collect this information.
- 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 had its second reading.
New Business
Expenses
Bartels moved and Saving seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:
$ 593.20 – Central Ohio Hydrant Repair – Hydrant repair
$ 378.00 – Assured Partners – 2022/23 Crime policy premium
$ 203.36 – Josh Mehling – Supplies & postage
$ 110.00 – Gudenkauf Corp – Water & gas line locating
$ 75.00 – Ohio Utilities Protection Service – 2022 Assessment
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, March 21 2022 at 7:00 p.m. at Thomas Worthington High School.
Adjournment
There being no further business, Pyter moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to adjourn. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0). The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer
Eric A. MacGilvray, Mayor