January 26, 2015 Council Meeting Minutes

Regular Council Meeting

January 26, 2015

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 Kirk M. McHugh, Michael A. Blanchard, Jeffery A. Colwell, Scott K. Gordon, Jenny D. Jones, and Jacalyn Slemmer. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor, Carolee Noonan, Planning Commissioner, and William P. Charles, Street Commissioner. Guest of Council was Pamela Colwell. At 7:02 pm the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

1. The minutes of the regular Council meeting of December 15, 2014 were not read since each member had received a copy. Jones moved and Colwell seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was received on the motion: Yes: 3, Colwell, Gordon, and Jones; No: 0; Abstain: 1, Slemmer. Slemmer abstained as she was not in attendance at the December meeting. Blanchard was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote. The motion carried (3-0-1).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

1. Colwell moved and Gordon seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for December 2014 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (4-0). Blanchard was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote.

Council President

Jeff Colwell nominated Scott Gordon as President Pro Tempore of Council and Jones seconded the motion. The motion was approved (4-0). Gordon was sworn in.

Report of the Mayor

1. The Mayor questioned whether Council would need to excuse MacGilvray each meeting during his sabbatical. The Solicitor confirmed that this would be a good idea in order to have it on the record. Jones moved and Colwell seconded the motion to excuse MacGilvray from the January meeting. The motion was approved unanimously (4-0).
2. The Mayor mentioned that a driver had caused several items to be damaged in the village, including the street sign at Melbourne & Dover and the kiosk at Beverly & Dover. Though the village is in possession of the damaged signs, it is unknown how much work and materials will be needed to put these back up.
3. The Mayor mentioned that the Small Village meeting to be held by MORPC was cancelled due to weather and would be rescheduled held in February, at which he would be in attendance.

Report of the Solicitor

1. The Solicitor reported that the driver in the accident mentioned above was charged with a traffic offense by the Worthington Police Department. The Solicitor was told by Pam Fox, the Law Director for the city of Worthington, that the Village could expect restitution for the damaged signs as part of the resolution of the charge. The Village is to submit an estimate to Worthington for compensation.
2. The Solicitor reported that there had been a sting on several massage parlors in the area, including one in Worthington, but the parlor located just outside the limits of Riverlea was not part of this sting.
3. The Solicitor reported that the Village had received a public records request for the vote concerning the petition for annexation by the city of Worthington. The Clerk Treasurer responded to this request.

Report of the Street Commissioner

1. The Street Commissioner reported that he was not aware that the signs that were knocked down by the driver had been collected by residents. He would like to be notified if anything like this were to happen in the future.
2. The Street Commissioner reported that in addition to the signs mentioned previously, the village would need to replace the street signs at Southington & Crescent as well as Riverglen & Carrington. He estimated that the cost to replace these three signs would be less than $500. The Solicitor mentioned that although the perpetrator had been ordered to pay restitution, it did not mean that he would be able to pay, so it was unknown when and if the village would receive these funds.
3. The Commissioner reported that there had been an overload issue at the lift station. The pump looked all right and did not need to be cleaned.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

1. The Planning Commissioner mentioned that she felt that the position paid more than the work for the job entailed and she wanted to have a discussion of whether to reduce the pay for the position.
2. The Planning Commissioner reported that two people had resigned from the Commission and that she would like to discuss with some residents the possibility of joining this committee. She mentioned the possibility of putting this on the website. The Mayor agreed that this would be fine.

Report of the Marshal

1. The Mayor reported that there had been 318 checks in December.

Report of the Web Manager

1. The Web Manager reported that she had yet to receive some date information to post to the website, including Council and Planning Commission meeting dates for the year. She also reported that she had not received the electronic copy of the Riverlea Quarterly.

Report of the Newsletter Editor

1. There was no report from the Newsletter Editor

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

Old Business

1. Committee on Infrastructure
   There was no report from the Chair of the Committee.
2. Committee on Communications
   TThe Chair of the Committee reported that she had several extra copies of the Riverlea Quarterly. The Mayor took these extra copies to pass out for future discussions on the infrastructure project with residents. She also reported that this was the last issue that would have assistance from Chris Coe for the layout, and that she had also heard that this would be the last issue for which Jon Ankrom would be able to assist with printing. As discussed in the December meeting, future information would be primarily related to the official business of the Village and would be disseminated on an as needed basis.

New Business

1. Ordinance 06-2014
   Ordinance 06-2014, An Ordinance to Amend the Zoning Regulations of the Village of Riverlea to Modify Stormwater Regulations was given its third reading. Colwell moved and Slemmer seconded the motion to adopt this ordinance. The motion passed unanimously (5-0).
2. Resolution 2015-01
   Resolution 2015-01, A Resolution to Adopt Rules of Council for 2015 and to Provide for Certain Other Organizational Matterswas introduced by Jones. Jones moved and Colwell seconded the motion to suspend the three readings of Resolution No. 2015-01. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Slemmer moved and Colwell seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2015-01. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
3. Resolution 2015-02
   Resolution 2015-02, A Resolution of Appreciation to Michael Jones for his Service to the Residents of the Village of Riverlea, Ohio was introduced by Gordon. Colwell moved and Slemmer seconded the motion to suspend the three readings of Resolution No. 2015-02. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Blanchard moved and Colwell seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2015- 02. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
4. Resolution 2015-03
   Resolution 2015-03, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of Jody Croley Jones as Web Manager was introduced by Gordon. Blanchard moved and Colwell seconded the motion to suspend the three readings of Resolution No. 2015-03. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Colwell moved and Blanchard seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2015-03. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
5. Resolution 2015-04
   Resolution 2015-04, A Resolution of Appreciation to Karen McElmurray for her Service to the Residents of the Village of Riverlea, Ohio was introduced by Colwell. Blanchard moved and Jones seconded the motion to suspend the three readings of Resolution No. 2015-04. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Jones moved and Blanchard seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2015-04. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
6. Resolution 2015-05
   Resolution 2015-05, A Resolution of Appreciation to Chris Coe for his Service in Helping to Produce the Riverlea Quarterly for the Village of Riverlea, Ohio was introduced by Jones. Slemmer moved and Blanchard seconded the motion to suspend the three readings of Resolution No. 2015-05. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Jones moved and Blanchard seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2015-05. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
7. Resolution 2015-06
   Resolution 2015-06, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of William Charles as Street Commissioner was introduced by Blanchard and given its first reading.
8. Tree Cutting
   The Mayor mentioned that it looked like Russell Tree Experts had cut down at least 15 trees due to ash borer infestation in the ravine. In addition, they had ground several stumps in the ravine as well as the circle. He mentioned the possibility of planting an evergreen tree at the point of the ravine where the tree had been cut and ground. In addition, the Village will backfill the hole from the ground stump in the circle and use the mulch from the stump for the bushes.
9. Prostate Cancer Month
   The Mayor stated that he had received a request from the spouse of someone in Ohio who died of prostate cancer to officially declare a month to be Prostate Cancer Month. The request was not from a resident of the Village. Council expressed concern that doing so would set precedent for future requests that the Village may not be in agreement with and decided not to take action on this request.
10. Landscaping Contract
    Colwell questioned Jones on the status of the bids for landscaping services for the village. Jones responded that she had developed a spec sheet for this bidding, but she had not sent it out for bidding yet.
11. Infrastructure Project Funding
    Colwell requested some information from the Clerk in preparation for upcoming discussion on tax levies in relation to the infrastructure project. He requested the amount the village would collect from a renewal levy as well as a replacement levy. He also requested information from RITA as far as what the administrative costs would be to implement a Village income tax. The Mayor stated that he felt that the village would need to schedule several meetings, possibly in different venues, to discuss the infrastructure options with residents. He also recommended that the councilmembers go door to door to attempt to discuss this issue with residents given its importance to the future of the Village.
12. Expenses
    Jones moved and Slemmer seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:
    $63.00 – Jon Ankrom – Riverlea Quarterly postage
    $199.95 – Josh Mehling – New accounting software
    $108.65 – Josh Mehling – Supplies & postage
    $96.00 – Radico – Lift station maintenance (12/12/14)
    $510.76 – Radico – Lift station maintenance (12/30/14)
    $800.00 – MORPC – 2015 Membership fee
    $300.00 – Gudenkauf Corp – Locating
    $335.24 – Ohio BWC – Premium

    The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items