January 18, 2011 Council Meeting Minutes

Regular Council Meeting

January 18, 2011

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 Mary Jo Cusack, Jon L. Ankrom, Scott K. Gordon, Donald E. Griffith, Eric A. MacGilvray and Kirk M. McHugh. Briggs W. Hamor was absent. Also present were Pamela M. Colwell, Clerk-Treasurer, Steven W. Mershon, Solicitor, William P. Charles, Street Commissioner, Michael Jones, Planning Commissioner, Jody Croley Jones, Web Manager and Lois Yoakam, Newsletter Editor. Guests of Council were Scott Thompson, Lisa Morris and Kent Shimeall. At 7:05 pm the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Election of President of Council

1. Gordon moved and Ankrom seconded the motion to nominate Kirk M. McHugh for Council President Pro-Tempore. There were no additional nominations. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
2. Kirk M. McHugh was sworn in as Council President Pro-Tempore

Minutes

1. The minutes of the regular Council meeting of December 20, 2010 were not read since each member had received a copy. MacGilvray moved and Griffith seconded a motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

1. MacGilvray moved and Ankrom seconded a motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial report for December 2010, as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
2. The Clerk-Treasurer reported that annual cash basis financial statement has been completed for 2010.

Report of the Mayor

1. The Mayor reported that municipalities are losing the Local Government Fund revenues and estate taxes, which are a significant percentage of the Villages revenues. Council may want to take the opportunity to lobby State Representatives to keep these funds for local municipalities.
2. The new Worthington Police Chief is Jim Mosic. Our new liaison is Lieutenant Jerry Strait. MacGilvray asked the Mayor to invite him to the next Council meeting and she agreed.
3. The new owners of 142 W. Riverglen Drive were not informed of the cut-through controversy. She reported that they have read the minutes of the past meetings.
4. The State of the Village Report was included in the January Newsletter.
5. There was a letter to the Editor in the Columbus Dispatch. She is preparing a letter to make clear that the Village is not looking to Worthington to pay for our streets and infrastructure.

Report of the Solicitor

1. The Solicitor reported that he is meeting with the Planning Commissioner to review some of the planning ordinances in order to get compliance and to discuss construction bonds. For some background information, Worthington has different levels of review. The Architectural Review District is the historic area and the most restrictive. However, it is less restrictive outside of the ARD area and is usually handled by staff instead of the Board. Riverlea’s laws were modeled after the ARD for the whole village. Council may want to look at allowing some issues to be decided by the Planning Commissioner instead of having a hearing before the Commission. He hopes to have something to bring to the next meeting.
2. He wants to review the sign ordinance next month since Council members have asked if it was too strict or not strict enough.
3. He wants to also review the solicitation ordinances in light of the settlement that Canal Winchester reached recently with a group for door to door contributions.
4. The Solicitor asked if Council wanted to get a report regarding the annexation from their point of view instead of Worthington’s. It would not cost as much as the combined review but it may be useful from the standpoint of being prepared to respond quickly to a petition. It would compare zoning codes, operating costs, taxes and how annexation would impact the Village. Gordon stated he would not want to spend a few thousand dollars for a report when they have not received anything regarding the annexation. Griffith also saw no reason to spend any money now. After some discussion, Council decided to not spend any money on a report at this point in time.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

1. The Commissioner reported there was a meeting in January. A new home is being built at 5818 Crescent Drive. The certificate of appropriateness was reviewed and approved.

Report of the Marshal

1. The Marshal was absent so the Mayor gave her report. She reported there were 282 patrol checks with no citations or written warnings.

Report of the Street Commissioner

1. The Commissioner reported that the lift station flow monitor should be operational this month and there were no other issues.

Report of the Newsletter Editor

1. The Editor would like copy for the Newsletter by February 5th.
2. She asked Council for their assistance in delivering the directories at the end of the month.

Report of the Web Manager

1. The Web Manager reported the top two sections on the web site are the Planning Commission and Village Council. People were visiting the archived minutes.

Report of Parks and Recreation

1. There was no report.

Report on Safe Routes to School Committee

1. There was no report.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

1. There were no comments on agenda items.

Old Business

1. Newsletters on the Web
   The Mayor asked if anyone was interested in getting the old Newsletters on the Web and no one responded.

New Business

1. Resolution No. 2011-01
   McHugh introduced Resolution 2011-01, A Resolution to Adopt Rules of Council for 2011 and to Provide for Certain Other Organizational Matters. MacGilvray moved and Gordon seconded the motion to suspend the three readings. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). MacGilvray moved and Griffith seconded the motion to adopt Resolution 2011-01. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
2. Resolution No. 2011-02
   Ankrom introduced Resolution 2011-02, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of William Charles as Street Commissioner. McHugh moved and Griffith seconded the motion to suspend the three readings. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). McHugh moved and MacGilvray seconded the motion to adopt Resolution 2011-02. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
3. Resolution No. 2011-02
   Ankrom introduced Resolution 2011-02, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of William Charles as Street Commissioner. McHugh moved and Griffith seconded the motion to suspend the three readings. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). McHugh moved and MacGilvray seconded the motion to adopt Resolution 2011-02. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
4. Resolution No. 2011-03
   Griffith introduced Resolution 2011-03, 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. MacGilvray moved and McHugh seconded the motion to suspend the three readings. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). McHugh moved and MacGilvray seconded the motion to adopt Resolution 2011-03. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
5. Resolution No.2011-04
   MacGilvray introduced Resolution 2011-04, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of Bryce Jacob as a Member of the Planning Commission. Gordon moved and McHugh seconded the motion to suspend the three readings. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Gordon moved and MacGilvray seconded the motion to adopt Resolution 2011-04. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
6. Resolution No.2011-05
   McHugh introduced Resolution 2011-05, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of Lisa J. Morris as a Member of the Planning Commission. Griffith moved and McHugh seconded the motion to suspend the three readings. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). McHugh moved and Griffith seconded the motion to adopt Resolution 2011-05. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
7. MORPC Dues
   Ankrom moved to authorize the expenditure of $800 to pay the MORPC annual dues. McHugh seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
8. Board of Health Re: Mosquitoes
   The Mayor reported that the cost of mosquito spraying will be around $3,000 this year and she asked if Council was interested. Council was not interested at that cost.
9. Radio Station
   McHugh reported that he was contacted by Matt Mnich, President and CEO of North American Broadcasting Company. He wanted to make one of their radio stations Riverlea’s radio station. After some discussion, Council was concerned about the possibility of the station having a format that is not liked publicly and being associated with it. They were also concerned about the legal obligations. Council decided to have the Solicitor look into this.
10. Local Waste Services
    The Mayor received a letter from Local Waste Services discussing a rate increase and the option of paying for yard waste recycling. Council asked the Mayor to contact Sharon Township regarding leaf pickup costs and Local Waste Services regarding the cost of yard waste recycling.

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items

Next Meeting Announcement

Adjournment

MARY JO CUSACK, MAYOR

M. COLWELL, CLERK OF COUNCIL