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 Benevento, Scott K. Gordon, Chad A. Lowe, Kathy E. McClintock, Ted C. Miller, and Leah M. Pyter. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, William P. Charles, Street Commissioner, L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor, and Greg Bonk, Web Manager. At 7:01 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.
Election of President Pro Tempore
Lowe nominated Kathy McClintock as President Pro Tempore of Council for 2019 and Gordon seconded the motion. The motion was approved (6-0). The Solicitor swore McClintock in as President Pro Tempore.
Resolution 2019-01
Resolution 2019-01, A Resolution of Council for 2019 and to Provide for Certain Other Organizational Matters was introduced by Benevento. Benevento moved and McClintock seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to have the Council rules in place for the year. The motion carried (6-0). Benevento moved and Lowe seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (6-0).
Minutes
The minutes of the regular Council meeting of December 17, 2018 were not read since each member had received a copy. McClintock moved and Pyter seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea – 3: Benevento, McClintock, Miller, and Pyter; No – None; Abstain – 2: Gordon and Lowe. The motion carried (4-0-2).
Report of the Clerk-Treasurer
McClintock moved and Gordon seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for December 2018 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (6-0). Benevento had a question for the Clerk-Treasurer on the allocation of payments to Burgess & Niple for work on the Infrastructure project since the Infrastructure project fund had been depleted. Council decided that any remaining payments to Burgess & Niple under this contract should be allocated from the street fund until it is depleted before using the general fund.
Report of the Mayor
- The Mayor mentioned that he, Council member Benevento, and the Street Commissioner had met with Jim Dippel and Mike Seal of Burgess & Niple. Among the items discussed were the reinstallation of the traffic signal loop at Southington and High, the asphalt around the water castings in the Village, inconsistent depth between the asphalt and the gutter pan throughout the Village, and the threading of hydrants throughout the Village. Burgess & Niple has requested a cost estimate for reversing the hydrant threads to match those used by the Worthington Fire Department. The infrastructure project is currently coming in within 1% of the budget per the bid.
- The Mayor stated that representatives from the Don Scott Airport will be at the Council meeting in February to discuss their master plan for the airport and to take questions from residents. In order to handle the expected residents, the February meeting will be held in the library at Thomas Worthington High School.
- The Mayor reminded Council that there will be several open positions in the Village on the ballot in November, including the Mayor, Clerk-Treasurer, and two Council positions. Those who would like to apply to be on the ballot will need to contact the Franklin County Board of Elections to submit an application fee and receive forms to collect signatures. The Village’s operating levy is also up for renewal in November; the Clerk-Treasurer will have information on the Village’s finances at the February meeting for aid in discussing options. Gordon had a question on how the Riverlea Mayor’s salary compared to that of other small municipalities within the area. The Solicitor stated that she would research this and report back.
Report of the Solicitor
- The Solicitor stated that she is working with Jim Dippel of Burgess & Niple to receive reimbursement to the Village from Elite Excavating for the fees paid to Kevin Masters Arborists. The Village paid these fees for remediation of possible damage to several trees throughout the Village as a result of work on the Infrastructure project.
- The Solicitor stated that she had received a public information request from an Ohio State graduate student seeking information from the Village on street trees. The Street Commissioner said that he had some data, but that it was at least 20 years old. The Solicitor said that she will ask the student if he wants this old data.
Report of the Street Commissioner
- The Street Commissioner stated that he would be working with Burgess & Niple to gather information on possible improvements to the Lift Station. He will bring this information to Council in February.
- Gordon mentioned that there were several spots in the Village where the new curbs are cracked and asked if the contractors would be taking care of this. The Street Commissioner stated that these were on the punch list of remaining items and would be addressed.
Report of the Planning Commissioner
The Planning Commissioner was not in attendance. The Planning Commission approved a Certificate of Appropriateness for the removal and replacement of some bathroom windows at 272 Melbourne.
Comments from Residents on Agenda Items
There were no comments from residents.
Old Business
- Committee on Infrastructure
- Benevento, the Chair of the Committee, mentioned that there was no meeting in January, but that there would be a meeting in February to discuss the conclusion of the Infrastructure project and the creation of a maintenance schedule for the coming years.
- Benevento mentioned that he would speak with the Street Commissioner about how to handle the properties along Olentangy that may have septic tanks.
Committee on Communications
Gordon, the Chair of the Committee, stated that there had not been a meeting in January, but they would need to have a meeting to discuss the creation of resident directories and the potential removal of several kiosks throughout the Village.
- Web Manager
- The Web Manager stated that he had added 2019 meeting dates for Council, the Planning Commission, and the Infrastructure Committee.
- The Web Manager reported that he is looking for a plugin that would allow him to monitor usage of the Village’s web site. GoDaddy, the current host, does not offer this service. Benevento recommended Google Analytics to handle this.
New Business
- Resolution 2019-02
Resolution 2019-02, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of William Charles as Street Commissioner was introduced by Lowe and had its first reading.
- 2. Resolution 2019-03
Resolution 2019-03, A Resolution to Appoint Taylor Surface and Sheila Bagley as Members of the Planning Commission, and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by McClintock. McClintock moved and Gordon seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution in order to fill the vacancies on the Commission in a timely manner. The motion passed (6-0). McClintock moved and Gordon seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion passed (6-0).
- 3. Planning Commissioner
The Mayor appointed Bryce Jacob as Planning Commissioner for 2019. Gordon moved and Lowe seconded the motion to approve the appointment. The motion passed (6-0).
- 4. Resolution 2019-04
Resolution 2019-04, A Resolution to Re-authorize Committees to Support the Work of Village Council and to Appoint Members Thereto, and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Gordon. After discussion on the status of the Social and Communications Committees, Council decided to remove the Communication Committee from this resolution. The Solicitor will research the status of the Communications Committee. Gordon moved and Lowe seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution in order to establish and fill the Infrastructure Committee in a timely manner. The motion passed (6-0). Pyter moved and McClintock seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion passed (6-0).
- 5. Resolution 2019-05
The Mayor appointed Greg Bonk to be Web Manager for 2019. Resolution 2019-05, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of Gregory Bonk as Web Manager, and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and McClintock seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution in order to fill this position in a timely manner. The motion passed (6-0). McClintock moved and Pyter seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion passed (6-0).
- 6. Social Budget
McClintock reported that the Village had spent just under its $1,500 budget for social events in 2018, with the cancellation of the Fall Festival due to construction, but the addition of the Luminaria event in December. She stated that if the Village wishes to have both of these events in 2019, this budget will have to be increased and she requested this be increased to $2,500 in 2019. The Clerk-Treasurer will put together an ordinance to amend the appropriations for Council in February.
- 7. Tree Planting Program
Benevento mentioned the discussions that the Village had held previously on the possibility of implementing a tree planting program after the infrastructure work is complete. He mentioned that there may be grant money available to assist with a program such as this. The Mayor stated that he felt this fell under the purview of Infrastructure Committee, but they may want to bring on other people to help. Decisions to be made include what this would cost, how it would be funded, and types of trees to be used, among others. Council members will think about who may be interested in taking part of this committee and residents are encourage to contact Council if they are interested.
Expenses
Miller moved and McClintock seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:
$300.00 – Fireproof – 2018 Record Storage
$12.00 – Ohio EPA – 2018 Discharge Fee
$795.00 – RACO – Biannual Lift Station Monitoring Fee
The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).
Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items
There were no comments from residents.
Next Meeting Announcement
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, February 19 at 7:00 p.m. at the Thomas Worthington High School.
Adjournment
There being no further business, McClintock moved and Benevento seconded the motion to adjourn. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0). The meeting was adjourned at 8:19 p.m.
Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer
Eric A. MacGilvray, Mayor